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CHANNEL HOPPING: a new show hopes to provide tips on financial and sports betting
CONTENT MANAGEMENT: Andy Harris of Realistic Games explains how less can be more
RESTRUCTURE ON THE CARDS?: An activist investor could trigger the break-up of Bwin.party
BETTING NEWS 12
COMMENT 40
BUSINESS 43
£5.20 (€8.30) • ISSUE:114 • MARCH 2014 • www.betting-business.co.uk
Last month saw the return of one of the older betting brands to the high street as Stanleybet opened a shop in its home city of Liverpool.
A HUGE SCREENWALL, SUPPLIED BY TVC, IS ONE OF THE NEW SHOP’S STANDOUT FEATURES
Player protection measures put in place MACHINES
he ground-breaking new measures to reduce the possibility of machine players in betting shops developing gambling problems have been introduced this month, with the future of the product potentially at stake. The key aspect of the code provides players with breaks and the potential to set their own monetary and time limits. When they reach either of those limits, then game play will be suspended for thirty seconds, and a message will pop up on the screen asking them if they want to stop playing. During that thirty second break, responsible gambling messages will appear on screen and staff behind the counter will also be alerted to the fact a player has reached their chosen limit. On top of that, all customers will receive mandatory reminders on screen when they have been playing for 30 minutes or lost £250, giving the player the opportunity to decide whether they want to continue or not. Again, staff behind the counter will be alerted that someone has reached those mandatory limits. The Code has been endorsed Dr Mark Griffiths, professor of gambling studies at Nottingham Trent University’s International Gaming Research Unit, who commented: “The player protection and harm minimisation measures proposed go further than anything else emanating from the UK gambling sector in the past. Some of the measures proposed are innovative and potentially world-leading.” Meanwhile, Jim O’Halleran of gaming machine supplier Inspired Gaming Group called for the measures to be introduced cross-industry on all Category B machines, given that the highest income UK machines are not B2/B3 machines in the bookmakers, but actually £2 B3 machines in AGCs and casinos. He added: “It makes no sense for campaigners to target bookmakers’ machines specifically - those vulnerable to addiction will still be at risk.”
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Stanleybet returns to UK retail sector RETAIL
tanleybet has made a long awaited return to the UK after an absence of nine years. Ever since the Liverpool-headquartered bookmaker sold its 624-strong retail betting estate to William Hill in 2005, the firm has been concentrating on European markets such as Italy and Greece, but last month saw the firm open up a new betting shop at 24a North John Street, Liverpool. John Whittaker, chief operating officer of parent company Stanley International Betting, commented: “It’s an entirely appropriate venue to reintroduce the Stanleybet name to the UK. We’ve been a Liverpoolbased company for over 35 years, and the new shop is close to the Cavern Club, one of the iconic sites that have made the
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city world famous. So we’re getting back to the heart of our own streets.” Stanleybet is using the experience garnered from operating 2,000 betting outlets in seven European countries to provide a slightly different take on the UK model by combining familiar products with a fresh focus on Continental football betting. Stanleybet Group managing director Andrew Liles explained: “We want to concentrate on what we’ve successfully established as one of the biggest retail sports-betting operators in Europe. We will offer customers the traditional British fare of horseracing, greyhound racing and products such as numbers betting and terminals, but we will also put a lot of emphasis on betting on Italian, German and Spanish
football, which we cover in our Stanley International Betting outlets.” Liles commented: " We have been delighted with both the design concept and shopfitting package carried out by Browns Shopfitters.” The shop has two distinct zones - the traditional area and another more focussed on European sports betting - and has been laid out to specification by shopfitters Browns with eye-catching screens supplied by TVC. Liles explained: “We’re going to give customers everything they will find in a modern betting shop but with a widened sports-betting offer, which is what we do elsewhere.” Stanleybet have other UK projects in the pipeline, starting in the North West and moving out to the North East, but there is no timetable for
expansion and no target number. Whittaker added: “We used to have 624 betting shops. We have no aspiration to get anywhere near that size again. Instead, we’re looking to develop a relatively small chain of quality outlets. The previous Stanley company gave customers a service, and it was a very good service, but it was once described to me as ‘a community-based business’, because we had lots of shops on estates and near pub car parks. That is not what we envisage now. “We’re being selective, aiming to be in the high street and high-end, secondary street locations. Once we establish the Stanleybet brand again, opportunities will arise, and we will be ready to take advantage.”
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News GTech offers £18m for mobile operator Probability Consolidation in the industry continues apace, with the unusual move of a B2B supplier acquiring an operator. MOBILE
isted mobile gaming operator Probability Plc is to be acquired by industry supplier GTech for around £18m. The deal is for 50p a share and when it was announced represented a 58.7 per cent premium on the closing price of 31.5 pence per Probability Share. Probability had been moving more into the provision of B2B services in the mobile gaming sphere in the past year and it seems that this capability has attracted the interest, and wallet, of GTech. Renato Ascoli, president of products & services at GTech, said: “This acquisition is a significant step in GTech’s ongoing efforts to meet the mobile gaming needs of our WLA and commercial customers. Probability does not have a WLA presence and its products complement GTech’s mobile product offering. The combination will generate operational synergies, primarily in R&D and games development.” Probability CEO Charles Cohen said: “The Scheme provides certainty of value to Probability shareholders through a cash exit at a premium to the recent share price. The Board and management of Probability are fully supportive of this transaction, which it believes is in the best interests not just of Probability shareholders, but also of all of Probability’s employees and customers. By becoming part of the GTech Group, Probability will be able to leverage its technology,
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mobile expertise and customer relationships on a global basis.” The acquisition is conditional on the continuation in existence in full force of the firm’s UK and Italian licences. In a statement, the firm said: “The Probability directors, who have been so advised by Global Leisure Partners LLP, consider the terms of the Acquisition to be fair and reasonable. In providing advice to the Probability directors, Global Leisure Partners LLP has taken into account the commercial assessments of the Probability directors. “Accordingly, the Probability directors have agreed unanimously to recommend Probability shareholders vote in favour of the resolutions to be proposed at the Court Meeting and the General Meeting in relation to the Scheme, as those Probability directors who are interested in Probability Shares have irrevocably undertaken to do (or procure to be done) in respect of their and their connected persons’ entire beneficial holdings in Probability amounting to, in aggregate, 3,820,191 Probability Shares, representing approximately 11.3 per cent of the existing issued share capital of Probability.” Given that GTech is offering hard cash, it is an approach that would have been very difficult for the Probability directors to turn away. Whether GTech has any interest in the operating arm of the company,
which runs the popular LadyLucks mobile casino, remains to be seen, but the wider GTech group does contain extensive B2C operations already, particularly in Italy. The GTech UK directors said that it believes a high level of capability in mobile is a strategic requirement across the GTech Group as demands from its customers for mobile solutions expand and become increasingly complex. In a statement, it said: “They believe that Probability has established an industry leading capability to quickly create and bring to market games which work on multiple devices and in numerous regulated jurisdictions and that the Acquisition will allow the Enlarged Group to build on the development of Probability as a provider of mobile gaming solutions through the application of the wider financial resources available to the GTech Group, facilitate the pooling of know-how currently available within the Probability Group and the GTech Group and enable the GTech Group to accelerate the deployment of existing gaming technology into the mobile market.” The acquisition would also provide scale in the market for Probability Group products, and provide cross-selling opportunities for both Probability Group and GTech Group products; and achieve revenue, cost and operational synergies on an accelerated basis. GTECH WANTS PROBABILITY’S MOBILE EXPERTISE
Ladbrokes s 65 per cent
A pretty disastrous 2013 for Ladbrokes doesn’t look like g FINANCIAL
he pressure has been ramped up on Ladbrokes CEO Richard Glynn after the bookmaker posted a 65 per cent drop in profit after tax to £67.0m. The biggest disappointment came from the bookmaker’s Digital division which saw revenues slashed by 74.2 per cent. Glynn explained that last year saw the firm reposition itself and that the fruits of that labour will become apparent later on this year: “While our financial results for 2013 were disappointing, we made real operational progress which has continued into this year. We remain confident about the direction of the business and the momentum we are creating. “As we have made clear, H1 is about delivery and H2 is about
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growth. Our immediate focus is on the completion of our remaining platform, product and capability upgrades, notably single wallet and CRM, which will begin to deliver tangible benefits from the World Cup onwards. “The early evidence from our changes to the desktop sportsbook and to our mobile offer are encouraging, giving us confidence that where our product upgrades and improved capabilities converge behind our brand, we have a powerful proposition. We look forward to competing even harder through the course of this year.” While it certainly was a big year for Ladbrokes, with its major deal with Playtech and acquisitions of betting exchange Betdaq and Aus-
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Coventry Dogs closes A tumultuous month for the UK greyhound industry has seen supporters of dog racing at Wimbledon Stadium conduct a ‘Show of Passion’ at City Hall in order to persuade mayor Boris Johnson to choose the sport over the football team for a planning application at the Plough Lane site. However, the feelgood factor in greyhound racing was soon to dissipate after it was announced that Coventry Dogs was to close and that there would be no racing after February at Brandon Stadium.
Coral still positive after ‘worst football results on record’ CARL LEAVER: ‘WE CAN ACHIEVE SIGNIFICANT GROWTH’
FINANCIAL
ala Coral has revealed a positive start to the year, despite suffering ‘the worst football results on record’. For the 16 weeks to 18 January 2014, turnover was 12 per cent ahead of last year and gross profit was £13.8m or 6 per cent ahead, which the company said reflected growth in its online business. Even though the exceptional football losses in early January, which were experienced by the whole industry, cost Gala Coral £11.6m alone, Coral Retail’s gross profit was £5.3m or 4 per cent ahead of last year, driven by new shop openings and continued market leading machines performance, with gross win per machine per week reaching £960 compared to £916 for the corresponding period in 2013. The adverse football results on the weekend of 10/11 January and an earlier round of the Champions League significantly impacted football margins for the quarter, with Coral Retail behind expectations by £6.4m, Coral.co.uk by £3.8m and Eurobet Retail by £1.4m. Group chief executive Carl Leaver commented: “The Group delivered strong underlying EBITDA (pre-exceptionals) growth in the quarter, as we continued to leverage the investments we have
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made over the last two years, particularly in Online and in Italy. Active customer numbers are increasing strongly across all our online websites and spend per head is exceeding our expectations. This clearly demonstrates that, with market leading brands and technology, we can achieve significant growth from this business in the years to come. I am also pleased with the continued underlying growth in Coral Retail and with the initial results from ‘Price Smash’ and the Genesis concept clubs in Gala Retail, with admissions in growth for the first time in over 12 months.” Underlying gross profit improved by £17.3m or 7.2 per cent in the quarter thanks to online growth. Sports stakes in Eurobet Retail were £22.4m or 41 per cent higher than last year, driven by the rollout of the new tender licences, but the football blow saw a 14 per cent drop in gross profits to £900,000. The Online business demonstrated continued strong gross profit growth, up £11.1m or 43 per cent versus last year, with excellent active customer growth across all websites: Coral.co.uk +60 per cent, Eurobet.it +18 per cent, Galabingo.com +19 per cent and Galacasino.com +142 per cent.
s suffers ‘disappointing’ ent drop in profits
t look like getting any better until the second half of this year.
tralian bookmaker Gaming Investments Pty, shareholders have been getting twitchy at just how poorly the company is performing, especially online, with no immediate signs of respite this year. While Ladbrokes’ Retail division again held its own operationally, most of the gains it made were wiped out by the machines games duty which resulted in additional tax of £12.9m during the year. UK retail division actually reported a 25.9 per cent drop in operating profit to £133.9m. despite a net revenue increase from gaming machines of 20.2 per cent to £408.4m and a only slightly lower over the counter net revenue figure of £392.5m. It was the division’s 6.6 per cent
increase in operating costs to £535.6m that has caused the most pain part of which was a £6.2m charge for ending its existing machine supply agreement with SG Gaming in order to get the latest models in the shop estate in time for the World Cup. The firm also confirmed it would be a ‘net closer of shops during 2014’ as it reduced the tail of unprofitable sites: “We have enlarged our estate footprint over the past few years, expanding into areas of high footfall and unmet demand. Going forward we expect rationalisation in the market in response to the imbalance between shorter term increases in taxes and content, and slower revenue growth per unit.”
One of the other big challenges for Ladbrokes this year is the introduction of the Point of Consumption licensing and taxation for remote gambling, due in December. Glynn commented: “How the tax impacts the wider market is as yet unclear. A poorly enforced tax will be little deterrent to some operators outside of the UK acting illegally and will create an uncompetitive environment for established UK operators. Proper enforcement should negate such movement as the threat of prosecution, IP blocking and transaction blocking would drive some of the market to more established players and we would be confident that our offer and brand would prove an attractive proposition.”
ANALYSIS It is a great pity that Ladbrokes’s results were so underwhelming as they threatened to mask a really positive development from the bookmaker that it was going to tie in its executives’ pay with social responsibility targets. Such an unprecedented move would have gone out widely unreported had some quick thinking hand not leaked the information to the media the day before the results were announced. Taken into conjunction with the new player-focused measures which have been introduced on all its gaming machines, it is actually a powerful message that the company is taking is social responsibilities seriously. This is no doubt of great comfort to shareholders who have been watching the values of their investment dip recently, but they would dip even more if the government felt it needed to intervene of the subject of problem gambling. BettingBusinessInteractive • MARCH 2014
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iGaming Betsson now has a foothold in Belgium and Holland after buying up Class One Holdings, the owner of Kroon and Oranje casino brands.
Betsson makes a play for continental Europe
ACQUISITIONS
isted igaming operator Betsson AB has strengthened its operational position in the Benelux region with the announcement of the acquisition of private Dutch based igaming operator - Class One Holdings - for a reported sum of 130m euro. The acquisition will see the operator take over operations of Dutch and Belgium marketed brands Kroon and Oranje casinos, with Betsson also taking on the operator’s affiliate and marketing arms. In 2013, the acquired Class One Holdings reported gaming revenues of 32.5m euro (£26.85m), with the EBITA for operations amounting to 22.1m euro (£18.27m), equivalent to an EBITA operational margin of 67.8 per cent. Class One Holdings had a reported database of 209,000 unique registered customers to Kroon and Oranje igaming brands. The purchase of Class One Holdings will additionally see
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MAGNUS SILFVERBERG: DEAL GIVES ‘A LARGER AND MORE SIGNIFICANT PRESENCE’
Betsson acquire a registered Belgian gaming licence, a number of exclusive casino slots and games titles developed for Kroon and Oranje brands and the purchase of three hundred Dutch and Belgian targeted domain URLs. Betsson further reported that it would keep key employees of the acquired Class One Holdings, in order to make the acquisition of the brands as operationally swift as possible. Magnus Silfverberg, president and CEO of Betsson, commented: “With this acquisition, Betsson gains a strategic position in the Netherlands and becomes one of
the biggest players on the Dutch market which is expected to be reregulated during 2015. This would give Betsson’s profits from locallyregulated markets exceeding 25 per cent of the group’s total profit. The deal also gives Betsson a larger and more significant presence in continental Europe.” The 130m euro asking price (£107.5m) will be paid in a combination of shares and assets. Betsson initial acquisition outlay will see the operator pay 40m euro cash to the owners of Class One Holdings, with a further 60m euro of the purchase will be appropriated through Betsson shares.
Silfverberg added that the rest of the Betsson business is progressing well with gross profit for the year increasing by nearly 12 per cent to SEK 2,073m (£191m). He said: “The optimisation of the operating entities continue through individual real-time customer communication, digital marketing and mobile offers. These initiatives have already had a positive impact and contributed to the strong underlying activity and growth in the key product segment Casino which despite unfavourable exchange fluctuations and strong comparable figures grew by 8 per cent.” The revenues for Betsson’s fourth quarter were relatively flat at SEK 655.5m (£60.5m) but the firm said that underlying activity had never been higher, although revenues were negatively impacted by fourth quarter record low Sportsbook margin and the exchange rate fluctuations cost it SEK 26.3m (£2.4m) across the three month period.
ANALYSIS While buying an operation in a re-regulating market such as Holland might sound like a risk, Bettson has covered its back with certain caveats attached to the deal that take the new proposals into account. Further, a performance caveat has been attached to the pending performance of the acquired brands set at 45m euro. A more attractive re-regulation of the Dutch igaming market could trigger additional payouts to the founders of Class One Holdings. Although the deal implies a maximum purchase of 145m euro, Betsson reported that it was likely targeting a further 30m euro in performance enhancements to the acquisition therefore attaching a value of 130m euro to the acquisition, a x5.9 EBITA performance for 2013.
All time high from 888 REVENUES
88 Holdings has seen a ten per cent rise in gaming revenues, with a reported all time high figure of US$107m (£64.2m), representing a $10m (£6m) increase on 2012 revenue figures. 888 has witnessed strong performance through its B2C business channels, which generated Q4 revenues of $93m (£55.8m). The B2C casino business led revenues with $51m (£30.6m), an increase of 15 per cent, while B2C Poker saw a marginal increase of 2 percent on revenues, generating $25m (£15m). However, B2C Bingo saw a decrease in revenue of 4 per cent, generating $11m (£6.6m) across the year. CEO Brian Mattingley commented: “I am pleased to report that
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888 has delivered another strong performance in Q4, completing an excellent and indeed record-breaking year for the Group in terms of revenue. Our strong result has again been driven by the progress we have made in newly regulated markets as well as a continued excellent performance in Casino and further market share gains in Poker, where we are now ranked Number 2 in the Pokerscout global rankings.” The report stated that the strong revenue performance could be contributed to enhanced product offerings for casino customers, strategic entry into regulated markets and new customer communication and retention initiatives. During Q4, 888 successfully
launched in New Jersey and Delaware, making the firm the only operator live in all three regulated US states, with the poker platforms achieving market-leading positions in New Jersey, Nevada and Delaware. Mattingley added: “This remarkable achievement is testament to the strength of our product, technology and marketing as well as the hard work, dedication and talent of our team.” The strong end of year performance in 2013 contributed to 888 Holdings announcing a group revenue record of $401m (£240m), representing a year on year performance increase of 7 per cent. B2C products generated revenues of $352m (£211m) and the operator
considerably increased its new customer acquisition numbers. Mattingley said: “We have continued to enhance our mobile and tablet product offering in this increasingly important growth sector of the industry and source of customer acquisition. This has contributed to the group delivering a very pleasing 19 per cent increase year on year in real money registered customer accounts across Casino, Poker and Sport.” The operator is focused on increasing its poker performance through strategic product partnerships with brands such as the World Poker Tour and is further investigating entering new regulated states within the US market.
BRIAN MATTINGLEY: ‘CONTINUED TO ENHANCE OUR MOBILE AND TABLET OFFERING’
sales@ingg.com
www.inspiredgaminggroup.com
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US to drive growth
iGaming
A new report from Juniper Research has found that annual wagers via mobile handsets and tablets on casino-type gambling and poker games are expected to reach $62bn globally by 2018, a sixfold increase on the $10bn wagered last year. According to the report, the primary driver will be legalisation of selected online gambling services in the previously untapped US market, which is expected to see a host of service launches over the next five years.
SkillOnNet snaps up PokerStars sees JackpotParty.com
Bulgaria as ‘full of promise’
The reorganisation of WMS into the Scientific Games fold has seen SkillOnNet jump in and take the online casino operations off its hands.
BULGARIA
P WMS GAMES SUCH AS ZEUS III WILL BE ON SLOTSMAGIC.COM
ACQUISITION
he October 2013 acquisition by gaming solutions provider Scientific Games Corporation of casino slots and video lottery provider WMS Industries for approximately $1.5bn, has seen the acquiring company begin to make operational changes to WMS industries. Last month saw WMS industries announce that it had sold its European focused online casino brand JackpotParty.com to online casino operator SkillOnNet, for an undisclosed sum. JackpotParty.com casino has quickly been incorporated into new online casino brand - SlotsMagic.com, which is set to combine popular WMS slot titles such Bruce Lee, Kronos and Wizard of Oz with slots inventories from other igaming suppliers such as Amaya Gaming and NextGen Games. JackpotParty customers were informed of the changes being undertaken, and that their accounts and personal information would be migrated to a new online casino system. SkillOnNet has further purchased JackpotParty’s media and affiliate partnerships as part of the acquisition deal. Affiliate and media partnerships will now be handled by appointed agency EGamingOnline. The decision by WMS and its new proprietors Scientific Games Corporation to sell
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okerStars has received approval from the Bulgarian State Gambling Commission for an online gaming license in Bulgaria. The poker giant is now finalising the technical requirements for starting operations under the licence and serving the Bulgarian online poker market under the local licence. According to the operator, the Gambling Commission’s decision to award PokerStars a licence underscores the company’s commitment to be among the first companies to enter regulated markets when licences become available. Bulgarian regulations now permit residents to play online poker with licensed operators, but so far, no other online poker site has been given permission to operate in the country. “Bulgaria is full of promise,” said Eric Hollreiser, the head of corporate communications for PokerStars. “Poker is extremely popular in the country and recently we have seen some notable results from Bulgarian players including Dimitar Danchev, who won the 2013 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event for $1,859,000. We are delighted with today’s news and we are looking forward to work with the Gambling Commission so that we can launch as soon as possible.” In addition to this new licence in Bulgaria, PokerStars already holds licences in France, Denmark, Italy, Spain, Estonia, Belgium, Germany, Malta and the Isle of Man. In the community, the group plays a particularly strong role. PokerStars’ parent company the
JackpotParty will see the termination of WMS interactive B2C division, as the company begins to focus solely on providing B2B retail and igaming content to clients. JackpotParty had launched in early 2010, serving WMS exclusively as the casino brand that would publish WMS slot titles to the public. Unlike other online casinos that whitelabel slots technologies, JackpotParty would only feature igaming inventory from WMS interactive, allowing the company to showcase its land-based casino content in an online environment. In 2013 WMS agreed a content partnership with bookmaker Bet365, to supply its casino operation with popular WMS slot games, thus ending the exclusivity of JackpotParty as a games provider. Additionally WMS Interactive was amongst the first igaming operators to offer customers access to their slot titles through a Facebook app - JackpotParty slots. Proving popular with customers on Facebook, currently Jackpotparty’s Facebook fan page has over 2.6m customers. The acquiring company SkillOnNet currently services 12 igaming casinos, including popular brands such as PlayMillions.com, RedKings.com and EUCasino.com. SkillOnNet currently uses Playtech tech-
BettingBusinessInteractive • MARCH 2014
nologies to serve its gaming products. New casino brand SlotsMagic.com will be the first SkillOnNet serviced casino to publish slots and gaming titles from other igaming software suppliers. SkillOnNet head of marketing Michael Golembo commented on the acquisition of the JackpotParty brand: “SkillonNet are really excited to launch the fantastic Williams Interactive catalogue of branded and popular slots.” He added: “We believe the addition of WMS and Barcrest slot games to our casino platform will help continue the huge growth that SkillOnNet has seen over the past few years and increase our penetration in new markets. The slot games and game engines from Williams Interactive will complement our suite of top performing games, increasing player value and giving our players more choice when they want to play. We expect them to be a big hit at SkillOnNet.” Williams Interactive managing director Jordan Levin commented on the new partnership with SkillonNet: “WMS are thrilled to expand the reach of our proven catalogue of casino games, recently enhanced with the addition of known UK popular slots titles alongside our fan-favourite WMS Gaming slot themes.”
ANALYSIS With some operators a little sniffy about casino content suppliers competing with them, it’s understandable why WMS has taken the view that it is worthwhile to divest its operating arm to SkillOnNet. Although it can give the supplier a good insight into the needs of its customers, it also provides an extra slice of competition for anyone taking on their games portfolio. However, as a promotion tool for a firm looking to make a splash in a new market, there are few better sales pitches than actual playing figures on games that have been successful in the land-based casino sector.
Rational Group has helped Cancer Research UK develop a new mobile app called Play to Cure: Genes in Space, a ground-breaking mobile game that analyses genetic data while you play, enabling anyone to help accelerate cancer research. The concept started back in March 2013: two PokerStars employees were invited to join Cancer Research UK scientists and teams from Amazon, Face-
ERIC HOLLREISER: ‘BULGARIA IS FULL OF PROMISE’
book and Google to help design and develop a mobile game that would aid cancer research. Rational Group head of corporate giving Sue Hammett said: “As a technology company, we are very proud to see that our highly skilled workforce can have a real positive social impact through this exciting project. We are all so excited about the game - it’s a unique way to help Cancer Research UK with their amazing work and great fun at the same time.”
Don’t gamble with age verification When it comes to age verification, the stakes have never been higher for online gaming companies. Tough legislation means failure to prevent under 18s from registering can lead to heavy fines, loss of trade and irreparable brand damage. Thankfully, Callcredit Age Verification enables online gaming companies to check identity and date of birth quickly and accurately. So you can keep out age cheats and stay on the right side of the law.
To find out more www.callcredit.co.uk/products-and-services/fraud-and-verification/age-verification@callcredit gaming@callcreditgroup.com 0113 388 4300 www.callcredit.co.uk/gaming directsales@callcreditgroup
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Somo go to LeoVegas
iGaming
LeoVegas has selected agency Somo to manage its multi-million pound media campaign to help drive it crack the UK mobile casino market. Somo’s Carl Uminski commented: “LeoVegas has a really fresh approach to mobile user acquisition and the company’s openness to innovation in mobile technology is something that can give them the edge in such a fiercely contested market.”
The new body hoping to match gaming start-ups with the right investors and expertise is open for registration. GamCrowd is making its mark.
amCrowd, the new crowdfunding and sourcing platform specifically for the gambling industry, has now opened its registration site for potential investors and start-ups for its crowdfunding service and also for buyers and sellers of services. CEO Chris North explained the company’s approach: “We are launching in two phases - we are taking registrations from start-ups and investors now but won’t start matching the two groups for a month or two. “We need some time working with the start-ups to ensure they are ‘GamCrowd Fit’. Once we have a sufficient number of quality start-ups and a pool of registered investors we will launch phase 2 and start matching investors with entrepreneurs.” GamCrowd Fit is a process which the company makes all of its startups go through before they can publish their pitch on GamCrowd. This process doesn’t guarantee success for a start-up; however, it does ensure that all of the pitches are presented in a standard format with all of the information an investor should need. It ensures that claims made have been challenged, that the maths in the financial projections is correct and that some standard accounting practices are followed. The GamCrowd Fit process will also see the start-up paired with someone with experience in that
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GamCrowd helping start-ups get Fit for purpose sector of the gambling industry who will provide some feedback and advice and will advise GamCrowd if they believe that the start-up has a good chance of success in obtaining funding. Not every start-up will pass and be allowed to publish their pitch. GamCrowd, which is now an Appointed Representative of Resolution Compliance Ltd, authorised and regulated by the FCA, has been approached by lots of start-ups and is now working to get them through the process. In addition to opening its site to start ups and investors, GamCrowd is also allowing buyers and sellers of services to register for its crowdsourcing service; GamCrowd Marketplace. The company hopes this will be an exchange for specialist gambling industry skills which will benefit start-ups and more mature gaming operators. North is an advocate of crowdsourcing, having used it extensively in developing GamCrowd. He commented: “Our logo, design work, videos, testing and many other ele-
ments of GamCrowd.com were crowdsourced and some big companies are starting to use it extensively. I believe it can make a huge impact on our industry.” GamCrowd’s ambitions aren’t just limited to the UK: “We want to be global. Our crowdsourcing will be global from launch but our crowdfunding will take time to get regulated in countries like the US. We are keen to see any type of gambling business and the level of creativity of entrepreneurs is such that I think we will see a lot of ideas we have never considered or categorised. I think we will get established companies using the crowd sourcing and we have already had interest from some of the multinationals, whilst the crowd sourcing is aimed at start-ups and early stage businesses.” The organisation is also on the verge of announcing a finance director and a chairman soon and already has seven people signed up for its GamCrowd committee, the group of people who will help assess the start-ups.
ACTION IMAGES / HENRY BROWNE LIVEPIC
INVESTMENT
GAMCROWD IS ABOUT THE EXPERTISE AS WELL AS THE INVESTMENT
ANALYSIS As GamCrowd itself warns, investing in start-ups involves risks, including loss of capital, illiquidity, lack of dividends and dilution, and it should be done only as part of a diversified portfolio. GamCrowd is targeted solely at investors who are sufficiently sophisticated to understand these risks and make their own investment decisions. It could also turn out to be a godsend for smaller companies looking not just for investment but a guiding hand in the choppy early waters of entrepreneurial innovation. It just remains to be seen if enough investors are happy to get behind the concept and why wouldn’t they if GamCrowd can cut the wheat from the chaff?
Rank hit by competitive market BINGO
he Rank Group said it has experienced a ‘challenging and highly competitive’ trading environment for the six months ended 31 December 2013, with the company experiencing decreases in like-forlike revenues across both the Grosvenor Casinos and Mecca brands. Despite this, and the adverse impact of the hot July weather, the firm believes that revenue and profit improvement plans are expected to deliver an improved result during the second half of the financial year. The group as a whole saw a 23 per cent drop in adjusted tax to £27.7m. The only real improvement has come about from the Grosvenor brand’s fledgling online operations. The number of digital customers increased
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IAN BURKE: HOPES TO BUILD RANK’S DIGITAL BUSINESS, PARTICULARLY THE MOBILE CHANNEL
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BettingBusinessInteractive • MARCH 2014
by 27 per cent to 42,000 with the total customer visits up by 20 per cent to 200,000. The total spend per visit also increased, by 9 per cent to £29. Chief executive Ian Burke explained: “Digital casino revenue improved during the period by 32 per cent to £5.8m. During the period we launched our new Live Casino offer, which has now become our largest revenue stream. The operating loss decreased by 50 per cent to £900,000.” At least Mecca’s online division is making money, just not as much as it has been. The number of digital Mecca customers edged up by 3 per cent to 234,000 as did the total spend per visit, to £12.83. However, the total customer visits dropped by 5 per cent to 2.3m.
Burke commented: “Digital revenue of £29.8m was down by 2 per cent in a very competitive market. Operating profit fell by 40 per cent to £6.8m due to lower revenue and higher IT and promotional costs. “Digital customer numbers have grown driven by increased marketing and customer acquisition activity. However, the frequency of visits has declined. Mecca mobile revenues continue to grow strongly, up 24 per cent in the period. During the period updated mobile (phone and tablet) apps have been developed and released with a focus on side game improvements. Mobile currently represents 22 per cent of Mecca’s digital revenues, up from 17 per cent in the comparable period.”
iGAMINGBRIEFS REVAMP FOR POKERTUBE.COM
Free poker media portal PokerTube.com has undergone the most comprehensive revamp since the site was taken over by UK-based company 180Vita in 2012. PokerTube is now fully optimised for mobile, while its desktop site will offer live streaming of major tournaments from around the world including this year’s Irish Poker Open. Users can now access World Series of Poker broadcasts and classic shows such as High Stakes Poker on the move, as well as exclusive training videos and online tournament recaps. 180Vita founder Jamie Nevin said: “Our team has put a huge amount of effort into the new PokerTube site and we can say with confidence that it is going to blow people away.” COMMISSION TAKING ONLINE APPLICATIONS
The UK Gambling Commission has launched an online application service for operators wanting a remote licence or for a non-remote licence alongside a remote licence. The online application includes the Multi-Jurisdictional Business Form (MJBF) which standardises the general information, track record and compliance records businesses are required to provide to regulators as part of their application for an operating licence. Commission licensing manager Dawn Best said: “This further development of online services for operators builds on the introduction of eServices in 2013. It’s always been our aim to enable licence applicants to make applications online and this is the first step towards that.” THIRD ONLINE CASINO FOR VEGAS
Las Vegas’ South Point Casino has launched a real money gaming website at RealGaming.com, joining UltimatePoker.com and WSOP.com as Nevada’s online gaming providers. Despite having a licence since August 2012, RealGaming has been moving slowly through the regulatory approval process, mainly because it has developed its own software rather than bring in a third-party partner. CEO Lawrence Vaughan told Las Vegas Review-Journal: “Unlike other online poker sites, we created Real Gaming by developing software from scratch, exclusive to us and our players. We are utilising the newest technologies available in order to set the foundation for future development and continued innovation.”
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BB114-p10-15-Betting_09/10 06/03/2014 14:04 Page 1
Betting
Machine research extended after pressure
MARKETING
Just as bookmakers implement their new player protection methods, an expansion of the research on gaming machines has been announced.
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oral has signed up to become the betting partner of the Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast, the flagship programme on sports radio station TalkSPORT. The partnership will see Coral sponsoring a daily on air betting slot on the breakfast show, called the Coral Daily Download, where Coral’s resident experts, Simon Clare and David Stevens, will comment on the major betting stories, and give listeners the latest sporting odds for the day ahead. The Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast is broadcast between 6-10am every weekday and attracts a huge audience of 1.4m listeners a week according to the most recent RAJAR figures. The deal will also see Coral sponsoring a number of outside broadcasts at major sporting events. The first Coral sponsored outside broadcast will be the four days of the Cheltenham Festival, where the show will broadcast live from Coral’s private box. In addition a Coral branded betting column will run on TalkSPORT.com as well as
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RESEARCH
he research into high stake and prize gaming machines has been extended in scope to specifically address B2 machines in betting shops after intense lobbying against the product. The second stage of the research by the Responsible Gambling Trust (RGT) will now cost £750,000, a 50 per cent increase of the previous budget. The Trust said that it has made the decision to expand its research programme to provide the focused research needed to inform policy decisions in relation to B2 machines. The second stage of the programme will include: Ground-breaking research into both industry data and players to explore the way that people use machines in LBOs to identify behaviour that is potentially harmful Cognitive and physiologi-
Coral signs up for Brazil broadcasts
cal studies to explore the impact of higher stakes and prizes and information provision on players’ behaviour in LBOs Geographical modelling to understand how ‘clustering’ or the locations of LBOs and the populations they serve may influence behaviour Surveys of machine players to understand more about who plays machines in LBOs and to inform effective harm minimisation measures Evaluation of the Association of British Bookmakers’ new ‘code of practice’ to asses impacts on behaviour Chief executive Marc Etches explained: “The Responsible Gambling Trust understands that there is growing concern about gaming machines in LBOs and that is why we are expanding our research programme to ensure that policy makers have access to the best possible research
to inform decisions. “The research the RGT is commissioning is groundbreaking and will involve a number of internationally recognised experts who will seek to consider all aspects of this issue from the way people play machines to where they are located.” He added: “We believe this independent research has the potential to significantly advance our knowledge and understanding of harmful gaming machine play and help to identify the most effective means of protecting all those who choose to gamble.” The research is being undertaken by a consortium made-up of NatCen Social Research, Featurespace and Geofutures. NatCen will conduct qualitative work with machine players to explore attitudes to player tracking and loyalty cards as well as scoping the development a survey of machine players, while Featurespace
will analyse how industry data may be used to potentially identify harmful patterns of play and will assess how reliable this information is. If the project shows significant patterns in the machine data then the RGT has committed to commissioning a second phase of research - including a survey of gaming machine users to see what the patterns identified in phase one mean for gamblers in practice. NatCen Social Research researcher director Heather Wardle said: “Our previous research suggests that some of the data collected by gaming machines may help us better understand the way people use them and potentially identify patterns of harmful gambling. This new project will tell us more about the data available and is a first step towards using this data to spot harmful machine play.”
on-air and online adverts. TalkSPORT sales director Adam Mills said: “Betting is a key part of sport and of great interest to our listeners. By partnering with Coral, we’re able to bring our listeners the most up-to-date odds on the day’s sporting events. The Cheltenham Festival is a big date in the talkSPORT calendar and I’m looking forward to working with Coral to make it one of our best yet.” Simon Clare, PR and broadcast director at Coral, commented: “I am thrilled that Coral is becoming the betting partner of the Alan Brazil Breakfast Show. Most of our customers listen to the show, and most of the listeners of the show like to bet on football and sport, so it really is the perfect partnership for a major betting brand like Coral. “The fact that we are just a few weeks away from the Cheltenham Festival, where Alan Brazil will once again be able to broadcast live from the Coral box, makes the timing of the deal even sweeter.”
ANALYSIS The fact that the research has been extended to put a bit of a release valve on the pressure that the government has been finding itself under just demonstrates how relentless the campaign against gaming machines has been and how successful in obfuscating the Health Study results which suggests that problem gambling has gone down since FOBTs were introduced. The extra £250,000 may end up being money well spent, but it must be remembered that this is from a finite pot. Of course, it could be that the originally planned research would have been adequate and the cash could have been used for other research or even for more treatment for problem gamblers.
ALAN BRAZIL WILL BE BROADCASTING FROM CORAL’S BOX AT CHELTENHAM
sales@ingg.com www.inspiredgaminggroup.com
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Inside information at IPL Gurunath Meiyappan, the team principle of IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings (CSK), has been accused of placing bets on the sixth season of the IPL, using insider information. Meiyappan was arrested on 25 May 2013 and was later released on bail regarding the corruption investigation. Meiyappan, who is the son-in-law of N Srinivasan, head of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), has not yet commented, but he denied the allegations last year.
Betting
McBookie using TV advertising for new player recruitment Pitching the World Cup to Scottish punters is a tricky proposition, unless it’s via an anti-England message. MARKETING
cottish online bookmaker McBookie.com has embarked on a major TV campaign for the first time, looking to use the Scottish sense of humour to attract customers ahead of the World Cup. The firm will be focusing on Scottish Television and has secured spots during STV’s coverage of the Champions and Europa League. The advert looks to prove that the firm understand Scottish punters more than other bookmakers, by having a sly dig at England’s chances of winning the World Cup telling punters that if they have £10 on England at 33/1 to win the World Cup, then they are going to lose £10. Director Paul Petrie commented: “This is about brand awareness and account generation so we believe the advert achieves both those aims. To be able to get slots during massive Champions League fixtures within budget is a massive coup and we are confident it will be a huge success.” The development of the advert took some time, with McBookie contemplating the most cost effective way of getting its message across while also planning for any future campaigns. Petrie explained: “We looked at getting actual actors involved in the advert but after much deliberation we felt it was better to put more marketing spend behind the actual airtime.
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THE MCBOOKIE ADVERT REGARDING THE WORLD CUP
For limited extra cost we can change the voiceover and the message on the screen really easily.” TV advertising is a new direction for McBookie which has taken a different approach to marketing in its early start-up years. Petrie commented: “Previously, we concentrated on revenue share deals as we felt that was the most cost effective way of growing the business. We did take out some online advertising with various publications but they didn’t produce a satisfactory ROI.” One of the instigators for this change was the company’s change of technology provider, according to Petrie: “We recently moved platforms from TGP Group to Victor Chandler. The platform was a huge improvement and we felt that TV advertising was the best way of getting people to the new site and letting them try it out.” He added that the new
look site provided immediate benefits. After only 3 months, new account registrations were up 112 per cent year on year, turnover figures far exceeded those achieved on the previous platform, and there was a new record for weekly Gross Profit. Petrie commented: “An uplift in core metrics was noticeable instantly.” The new platform upped the number of sports from 16 to 50, the number of prematch markets from 67 to in excess of 700, the number of casino games from 103 to over 500, as well as introducing over 350 inplay betting markets. Director Damian Walker added: “Customers were delighted by the new look and the number of new markets and games available. Importantly McBookie customers are staying around during the live games and we are seeing a growing conversion from Sportsbook into Casino and Live Casino.”
ANALYSIS The World Cup is likely to provide many firms with immense opportunities for new sign ups, but the battle ground is likely to be fierce. For this reason a unique selling message will be extremely beneficial and McBookie’s has been pitched perfectly for its target audience. The fact that television advertising is a viable route to market for smaller operators also demonstrates how the medium has become ever more affordable during the recent economic troubles. However, just like betting shops taking prominent high street positions, the increased visibility of gambling brands on television has attracted the ire of the anti-gambling lobby who have called for greater restrictions on gambling advertising, although with no empirical evidence to back up their claims.
New tipster channel launched TIPPING
n innovative webbased TV programme offering advice to punters playing the financial and burgeoning sports gaming markets has been launched by two City executives. TipTV.co.uk made its debut last month and has been devised by Square Mile veterans Nick ‘The Moose’ Batsford, a former trader and analyst; and financial and football industry PR David Bick. Commenting on the new venture, TipTV’s CEO Batsford, said: “The current financial TV broadcast offerings don’t cater to the needs of TipTV’s target market. Tip TV aims to liven things up for home day traders and those who like a regular punt on the increasing range of sports betting markets. We produce a punchy infotainment show but with a serious mission to provide winning advice on a range of asset classes, such as sporting events, political elections, equities and foreign exchange and even reality TV shows. Tip TV
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has the X-factor for sure.” TipTV.co.uk is envisioned as a free to view, daily two-hour programme broadcast at 10am Monday to Friday, live from studios in the City of London. The show is fronted by Batsford and offers tips on the financial trading and sports betting markets from a network of City analysts, including David Bick, as well as sports statisticians and personalities. Batsford says the show aims to provide expert advice and tips in an ‘entertaining and sometimes quirky editorial style’. He explained that the target audience of the programme, are day traders, spread betters and sports punters. Revenue will be generated initially from click-through advertising from financial companies, spread betting and sports bookmakers. Future plans include the development of a premium subscription service and bespoke licensed content to other broadcasters and vendors.
JEMMA KEYS IS ONE OF THE HOSTS OF TIP TV
ASA dismisses Bet365’s ‘free bets’ claim ASA
he Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has made another judgement which may cause the industry’s marketing teams to revisit the terminology they use in adverts. Bet365’s free bet offer around Channel 4 Racing, where it offers a free bet for any televised winner of 4/1 and above, received complaints because ‘participants had to stake their own money to make the free bet’.
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The bookmaker said that it informed customers of the requirement to stake their own money and that the stake would not be refunded if the free bet won. Bet365 argued that qualifying losing stakes were returned as cash that could be withdrawn without any play through or other similar conditions attached to it and therefore customers did not lose any of their money if the free bet lost. It
12 BettingBusinessInteractive • MARCH 2014
believed the full extent of the commitment the consumer was required to make to take advantage of the offer was made clear, including that they needed to stake their own money and that free bet winnings excluded stakes. It added that the offer had been very well received and it was never its intention to disappoint customers. In its judgement, the ASA said: “The ASA considered
that customers would understand the claim ‘Back any single winner at 4/1 or more on any race televised live on Channel 4 and you can have a free bet to the same stake on the next live Channel 4 race’ to mean that they would be offered a free bet following their win, whereby customers would receive a free element from the advertisers to bet again. “We noted that the terms
stated ‘Free bet winnings exclude stake’. We understood, however, that customers would have to place their own stake again in order to make the next bet, and would not be offered, for example, an additional free stake or matched stake by the advertisers. On that basis, we did not consider that the promotion offered winning customers any ‘free’ element when making their subse-
quent bet. “Although we acknowledged that, in the case of a subsequent losing bet, the original stake was refunded to customers, because we did not consider that there was a free element provided to customers who had a winning bet or a series of winning bets, we concluded that the claim that the promotion offered a ‘free bet’ was misleading.”
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BB114-p10-15-Betting_09/10 06/03/2014 14:05 Page 3
Betting
Betfair signs on with the IOC again
BETTINGBRIEFS FOOTBALL INVESTMENT
Another MoU will help the IOC make sure that its new IBIS product collates all the necessary information it needs.
BETFAIR IS CELEBRATING THE MILLIONTH CASH OUT
INTEGRITY
etfair Group plc and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) have signed a permanent information-sharing agreement designed to help keep all future Olympic games free of betting corruption. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), covers all future Summer and Winter Olympic Games, as well as certain other competitions organised by IOC affiliated International Federations (IFs). The agreement lays out a detailed framework for co-operation and enables Betfair to share customer and transactional data should suspicious activity be detected on a relevant event. Betfair and the IOC have previously signed MoUs on an event-by-event basis, starting with the Beijing Olympics in 2008, and continuing through the London Olympics of 2012. Betfair is a world leader in monitoring and detecting suspicious betting activity and will apply its unique Exchange technology, moni-
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toring systems, and dedicated team of integrity experts to ensure that any suspicious betting activity is investigated and relayed straight to the IOC’s Integrity Betting Intelligence System. James Midmer, Betfair corporate communications, said: “The interests of sports governing bodies, like the IOC, and Betfair are completely aligned in wanting to ensure customers can bet in fair, transparent and secure markets on exciting sporting events. Today’s agreement is another sign that sports and the betting industry are continuing to co-operate in this area.” Mark Adams, the IOC’s communications director, added: “The Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) between the IOC and various betting operators and regulators, including Betfair, are part of our concerted strategy to support clean sport and protect major competitions from any form of manipulation, particularly those linked to betting. We are very pleased with these agreements, which build on our successful collaboration
during London 2012. “The MoU with Betfair allows them to share any relevant customer and transactional data with the IOC in the event of any issue related to betting integrity at the Olympic Games or competitions organised by the International Federations (IFs). This information will be used by the IOC’s newly established Integrity Betting, Intelligence System (IBIS), which will be in operation for the first time in Sochi. IBIS collates alerts and information on manipulation through betting on sport, and will also be placed at the disposal of International Federations during their major championships.” Meanwhile, Betfair Sportsbook celebrated its millionth Cash Out when Jason Parmar of Leeds cut the losses of his £5 football treble to walk away with 16p. However, to celebrate Parmar being the millionth Cash Out, Betfair Sportsbook instead handed him a £5,000 profit. Parmar said: “I’m in absolute shock. When Betfair first called me, I
thought they were ringing to say there was a problem with my account. Instead they told me I was the lucky one millionth Cash Out customer and they were giving me £5,000! I can’t quite believe it - I’m a huge fan of the Cash Out product, and now it’s bought me a holiday!” The Betfair Sportsbook Cash Out service, which was launched in May 2013, allows customers to lock in a profit on their bet before the completion of match. The highest Cash Out came in at a whopping £22,285 won during a match between Bayern Munich and Vitoria Plzen in the Champions League back in November 2013. Betfair brand director Mark Ody commented: “The Cash Out product is unique to Betfair and we are delighted our ‘do you don’t you’ experience is one that is so popular with our customers. We launched the service on Betfair Sportsbook in May 2013, and it’s testament to the popularity of the service that we are already celebrating the one millionth Cash Out.”
ANALYSIS Betfair practically invented the information sharing memorandum of understanding template with sporting authorities back in the days when everyone was crying foul about the ability to bet on something to lose. However, it still has to go it alone with its information sharing deals, despite all the other bookmaking organisations now ploughing the same furrow (see page 16). Perhaps it is time that the exchange is allowed to share an MoU with the rest of the betting industry as well as its information.
Virtual approach for boxing gamblers BOXING
new project based out of Ukraine is hoping to reinvigorate boxing as a betting product. K2 Promotions, the professional boxing promoting company of the world heavyweight champions Vladimir and Vitali Klitschko, is developing a product that will allow boxing fans to place a bet on the sport without having to take into account the whims of the scoring judges. K2 Promotions, which puts on around 7 boxing shows a year with between 7-10 bouts each, is hoping to introduce virtual simu-
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lations of the bouts before the fighters actually start boxing, and encourage fans to bet on the outcome. Alexander Krassyuk, general manager of K2 Promotions Ukraine, explained: “There is almost no pay per view set-up in Europe, so introducing a betting product is a good way of generating revenues from our boxing shows. Virtual boxing is the perfect product for us in this regards as it has clear rules, it can’t be tainted by corruption and has a clear link to the sport itself.” With results in amateur
14 BettingBusinessInteractive • MARCH 2014
boxing notorious for being influenced by the judges rather than the performances, Krassyuk believes that the public is crying out for the opportunity to gamble on a fair boxing product and that the virtual option will fill that gap. The virtual boxing product is being developed by Virtual Intellectual Projects (VIP), which is headed up Krassyuk, gambling industry veteran Predrag Popovic and boxing/kickboxing training camp operator Vladimir Kolomiets, who also has extensive experience in land-based
gaming. VIP, in conjunction with Dave Mousley and Jonathan Mills of Veros Digital, is transferring the likenesses of the boxers into its virtual simulation and has also drawn on the technical knowledge and experience of the Klitschko brothers and other K2 Promotions boxers in its games design. The ‘Virtual Boxing Title Match’ game will also be made available through all the regular channels as well as during the televised boxing shows, such as online, mobile and via gaming machines.
THE LIKENESS OF MAX BURSAK HAS BEEN CAPTURED FOR THE GAME
Fidens, the Football Form Labs-operated tax-free betting syndicate trading on football, has broken the £1m mark under management as it continues its rapid growth. The syndicate uses high-powered algorithms, a comprehensive proprietary worldwide information source, and efficient bet placement to gain the best possible price on football markets. Andrew Dagnall, CEO, Football Form Labs, said: “This form of investment really appeals to investors who are looking for an alternative to conventional investment. The transparency that we offer is a huge benefit to our customers. They know that we don’t have access to their funds and they can withdraw their balance at any time. They also feel confident that all of our trades are placed using highpowered algorithms with zero human interaction.” DARTS DEAL FOR BETWAY
Betway has signed an agreement to sponsor the 2014 Betway Premier League Darts tournament, the UK & Ireland’s biggest indoor sporting event. Bob Dutnall, executive director at Betway, said: “We are delighted to announce the sponsorship of the 2014 Premier League Darts tournament. This sporting event, which has international appeal, has become a top event in the darts sporting calendar. The sponsorship adds to our brand in online sports betting where we are building a leading position.” PDC chairman Barry Hearn said: “It gives me great pleasure to welcome Betway as the new title sponsor of Premier League Darts in our tenth season of this prestigious event.” TITILLATING NEW AFFILIATE
A new affiliate website with a style all of its own has been launched. Beatthebookie.tv aims to cover a certain demographic’s three favourite subjects of football, betting and girls and all the media coverage that can bring. Chief executive Matthew Stubbs explained: “We set up beatthebookie.tv with a mandate to inform and entertain young men with a mixture of analysis and recommendation of the best bookies, including interviews with the major personalities operating in the sector as well as making it a fun place to visit where we feature girls who like football, news and a some laughs.”
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More licences issued Bulgaria’s State Gambling Commission (SGC) has granted approval to sports betting operator EuroFootball and betting exchange Betfair to allow Bulgarian betting transactions and promotion of betting services to Bulgarian citizens.
Self-regulation not the key Leonid Oboznyy, president of First Gaming and Head of the Expert Council of the Russian Association of Bookmakers discusses the new online laws being discussed in Russia.
SOCIAL GAMING
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What are the main threat to online betting in Russia? In short, it is planned to create SRO (self-regulating organisation), whose members will have the exclu-
sive right to operate online. In fact, this is hidden market monopolisation, as more than two SROs for 27 licensees can’t be created. Websites of foreign companies will be banned. Such amendments carry serious corruption risks and put in jeopardy the principles of fair competition. Can the industry really affect the adoption of laws? We make this all possible. An important step was a roundtable with representatives from industry, public organisations and members of the State Duma entitled ‘Illegal gambling business in Russia. Ways to resist’. Also connections with all necessary authorities of executive power and legislature regarding this question are being built.
panish media giant Marca has moved into the social sportsbetting sector with the launch of Marca ‘El Guru’. Using the social betting platform developed by Oddslife, Marca El Guru offers players a host of new features including compelling story lines, memorable sports moments, in-play betting, API or odds feed integration, deep linking, badges, virtual trophies, status levels, multiple leaderboards, head2head challenges, and real prizes. Marca already has a full sportsbook betting arm called Marca Apuestas, but has added a social betting product to appeal to customers not immediately interested in real money gambling. Oddslife has also confirmed the renewal of social betting partnerships with Greece’s leading sports media and radio broadcaster
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RUSSIA
ow big is the betting market in Russia? Is it (the market) still based on betting shops or online business already appeared? The country has 27 licensed companies, more than 5,000 betting shops opened. Online betting is officially prohibited, but the Russian players actively use web-sites of foreign companies. Therefore, the project of amendments to the current legislation of the Russian Federation was proposed, which became rather a threat to betting than attempt to regulate it.
MARCA gets social
LEONID OBOZNYY
sport-fm.gr and Denmark’s largest online sports and football portal - Bold.dk, as well as reaching an agreement with Bulgaria’s largest sports media group Sportal.bg. Oddslife will be using this social betting technology expertise to develop seamless integrated laptop and iOS App solutions with single sign-on around this summer’s World Cup, which enables bookmakers and media firms to engage various types of audiences on a fun and entertaining level. Oddslife CEO & Founder Rasmus Sojmark commented: “It’s been a busy and successful start to 2014 at Oddslife. These high visibility sports media companies are exactly the type of strategic partnerships we want to work with in every country.”
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…delivered online and into shops For more details visit www.sis.tv or email info@sis.tv BettingBusinessInteractive • MARCH 2014 15
BB114-p16-18-Politics_09/10 06/03/2014 14:17 Page 1
Politics
Time for industry to take the lead In an extract from a speech at the World Regulatory Briefing last month, Gambling Commission chairman Philip Graf challenges the gambling industry to take the lead in the social responsibility debate. COMMENT
Operators are not using the same tools and analytical approach they use to manage commercial risk and opportunity to understand the risk to players or in some cases the money laundering risk. Many straightforward questions come to mind as we try to deal with the vulnerable and the risks posed to them, like Who is gambling? How often? And how much are they spending? Shouldn’t the same analytic techniques being applied to commercial marketing and risk be applied elsewhere - to help identify which players are more likely to be engaged in harmful gambling behaviour and to help us find ways of targeting player protection and advice measures? It is not sufficient to say that there are ‘only’ 0.5 per cent of people who are problem gamblers, and they can be treated. Very few of those seek help and there is a much larger group who have some issues and could be helped by the industry providing, for example, more sophisticated self help tools or staff support. The industry needs to find ways to identify and target help to those in this group - for while some may sort themselves
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out, some may be on the road to full scale addiction and some may simply continue to play in an unhealthy way. We are starting to see a welcome increase in operators providing access to data and collaborating with researchers; here in Great Britain the independent Responsible Gambling Trust ran a harm minimisation conference last December, funded by the industry, bringing in experts from around the world. This is moving in the right direction. But the concerned public are certainly not yet convinced that sufficient, real effort is being made to harness modern analytic techniques and technology in pursuit of player protection. This was very clear in the debate in the British Parliament on the remote gambling bill - speaker after speaker called for operators to be required to do more - whether it be a national self exclusion scheme or mandating the best international practices forthwith. The challenge for companies is how they are going to persuade the regulator and a more sceptical public that they really care and it’s not just cosmetic or just enough to keep either the regulator or politicians off
their back? The public need to see the industry really trying to use modern analytics techniques to help them distinguish where the industry money comes from - to what extent from healthy recreational gamblers or to what extent from those with harmful behaviour patterns - and to see operators harnessing modern technology to reduce the risk of their growth and prosperity being partly on the back of problematic gamblers. Industry will not have credibility until it can make a better fist at dealing with that issue. There is a clear opportunity here for the gambling industry to demonstrate that it is serious about using innovation and technology to develop better player protection tools and adopt a more socially responsible approach as well as to grow its business. Regulators can support and endorse a proactive industry approach to player protection, but it is the operators themselves that are far better placed than anyone else to identify and commission the most promising avenues for improvement. They have access to player data regarding time and money spent and need to use that data much more effectively
- and be prepared to share their findings so that we can all learn more about how to keep players safe. As a regulator we look forward, one day, to being able to move away from issues such as stake and prize limits to a more player-focussed approach aimed at protection of those who need it and regulation that reflects the technological world we live in. We need to be able to show opinion formers that innovation is being used to improve player protection,
so they feel confident that people can enjoy gambling without undue risk. Until this happens, politicians and the public will remain, at best, ambivalent and sometimes antagonistic towards gambling operators. Public confidence will only be built by a demonstrable commitment to player protection and building growth on responsible gambling not those gambling to excess. But that public confidence is the key to sustainable growth and innovation.”
Levy Board wants 6 runners per race HORSERACING
he Horserace Betting Levy Board’s 2014 Business Plan has revealed the body’s specific objectives for 2014 which include a ‘detailed, ongoing analysis of the Fixture List and race programme’, including the analysis of betting and other relevant data, and make recommendations to optimise the Fixture Criteria, focusing on Levy generation and the use of funding to achieve a minimum of 7 races per
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fixture and a minimum of 6 runners per race. The Levy Board said it also aims to focus on increasing the prize money allocation in its distributions and encourage racecourses to increase their prize money contributions further, including through a new model which awards racecourses based on their planned contributions in the coming year. It also wants to incentivise racecourses by linking their grants to executive and
16 BettingBusinessInteractive • MARCH 2014
sponsorship prize money contributions and to Levy generation. Total budgeted expenditure in calendar year 2014 is £82.0m, versus a budgeted £76.3m in 2013 and £64.8m spent in 2012. The Board’s forecast income in the 2014/15 (April to March) Levy year is £80.2m, excluding interest and other income. The Board has approved a small deficit budget for the year as a result of current and forecast reserves being in
excess of the target range of £30m to £40m. Over 90 per cent of the Board’s expenditure is allocated to prize money and grants to racecourses for Raceday Services and Fixture Incentives. The Board’s prize money allocations include grants to the new Future Champions Day and to fixtures on Good Friday. Overall, prize money will be split 61 per cent Flat, 39 per cent Jump, in line with the amount of levy generated by each
code of racing. Additionally, the Board has made over £8m available to racecourses by way of Capital Loans for maintenance and upgrading work. The Business Plan also highlights that the Board’s administration costs are forecast to fall in 2014 by 15 per cent on 2013. The move by the Levy Board and the Bookmakers’ Committee to new accommodation in February 2014 will save £186,000 per year on a like for like basis.
Bookmakers find some support in Parliament EDM
n unexpected bout of common sense appears to have broken out at Parliament after an Early Day Motion (EDM) was created actually supporting bookmakers in the face of heavy criticism. The EDM, with a primary sponsor of Conservative MP for Tewkesbury Laurence Robertson, has attracted support from Plaid Cymru, the DUP and even a brave member of the Labour Party in the shape of Blaydon MP Dave Anderson who is no doubt going against his party’s line on the issue. EDM 961 reads: “That this House is concerned by the campaign which is being waged against fixed odds betting terminals (FOBTs) in bookmakers’ shops and against bookmakers themselves; believes that bookmakers site their shops in affordable, populated areas, as do owners of many shops, and do not target areas of deprivation; points out that, far from proliferating, the number of betting shops has halved from its peak number;
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CONSERVATIVE MP LAURENCE ROBERTSON
disputes the assertions that problem gambling is on the increase or that vast amounts of money can be lost in a few minutes on FOBTs; reminds the Government that the sport of horse racing, the finances of which remain in a very poor state, is dependent on bookmakers for much of its income, and that any reduction in their profits would have a serious knock-on effect on the UK’s second most popular spectator sport, putting thousands of jobs at risk; and calls on the Government to continue to pursue an evidence-based approach to this issue.” At the moment only 14 MPs have signed up to the rather extensive EDM, but in practice, they are rarely debated in the House and their main purpose is to draw attention to certain issues.
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BHA takes interactive approach
Politics
The Interactive Race Planning initiative, which was launched in March 2012 and originally funded by the Levy Board, will now be entirely managed and funded by BHA, albeit at half the size. The initiative aims to give trainers more of a say in the fixture planning process and under BHA’s remit an enhanced system of contacting trainers to raise awareness of forthcoming opportunities will be trialled.
IOC extends its partnership with gambling industry
Bill aims to cleanup but IT costs are set to soar
IOC
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Global gaming expert Steve Donoughue, senior associate of E-gamingexperts.com, and Dr Peter Chadha, CEO of DrPete Inc, examine the IT implications of the latest UK gambling legislation.
DRPETE INC CEO PETER CHADHA
LEGISLATION
While the UK G a m b l i n g (Licensing and Advertising) Bill winds its way through the House of Lords the implications for delivery of services are only just being truly realised. Moving Britain to a system of national licensing will have considerable implications for the gambling industry, particularly relating to IT management. The Bill itself is relatively straightforward. An operator will need a licence from the Gambling Commission if their gambling facilities are used in Great Britain (even if no equipment is located there). This will make the operator liable for Remote Gambling Duty and they will have to pay 15 per cent of Gross Gaming Revenue on gambling transactions placed in Great Britain. However, the new Bill doesn’t just mean additional cost in time and money for operators and obtaining a licence is only the first hurdle. From an IT perspective, it could have a serious impact on delivery of services.
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For example, operators will have to inform the Gambling Commission when they move equipment from one location to another and allow enforcement officers access to equipment/ premises. They will need to ensure all gambling software is sourced from licensed providers along with further technical amendments being required to poker networks, payments and player accounts. The over-riding issue is that all gambling software used in the UK will need to abide by UK technical regulations, which may not be the same as those of the jurisdiction in which they are located. For start-up operators, or those originating in the UK, software compliance may be less challenging. However, for overseas operators, or those that have been part of a merger or acquisition (M&A), these issues will need to be addressed rapidly. In the last year, gaming has continued its worldwide expansion toward billions of gamers as new platforms such as tablets and smartphones have taken off. The
he International Olympic Committee (IOC) has expressed its pleasure at extending its relationship with the betting industry as it aims to stamp out any corruption at the Olympic Games. The IOC has signed a new information reporting arrangement surrounding any suspicious betting activity with the European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) and the European Sports Security Association (ESSA) in time for the Sochi Winter Olympics and it will extend to include Rio 2016. IOC communications director Mark Adams said: “The Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) between the IOC and various betting operators and regulators, including the ESSA and the EGBA are part of our concerted strategy to support clean sport and protect major competitions from any form of manipulation, particularly those linked to betting. We are very pleased with these agreements, which build on our successful collaboration during London 2012.” In the event of any issue related to betting integrity at the Olympic Games or competitions organised by the International Federations (IFs), the MoU will allow ESSA and the EGBA members to share data with the IOC in their newly established Integrity Betting Intelligence System (IBIS). Making its first appearance at the Sochi games, the IBIS collates alerts and information on manipulation through betting on sport. It will also be placed at the disposal of International Federations during their
traditional gaming companies and major entertainment brands are having to adapt to the digital shift and the barriers between social casino games and realmoney online gambling companies are falling. All of this means rapid development of new, responsive gaming software; larger servers and data storage operations and greater cross-border gambling activity, presenting something of a compliance nightmare for those operating in highly regulated markets such as the UK. M&As throw up their own particular challenges. For example, William Hill’s acquisition of Sportingbet and JV with Playtech may appear relatively straightforward, given that Hills are UK-based (though licensed in Gibraltar). But, as has been seen so often when one company takes on the infrastructure of another, their IT team is likely to have inherited a legacy that included a host of non-compliant applications lurking behind the firewall. While IT due diligence is critical before a gambling merger, thorough assess-
ments are required before any IT changes are implemented, even within established, compliant infrastructures. The sheer scale and growth of the online gambling sector has meant that it has soaked up significant amounts of human resource. Maintaining a strong team to keep pace with the changing demands of IT infrastructure is essential but comes at a cost. Operators need to plan for change now taking into account impending IT issues and not gambling on the impact of the Bill. While IT costs could soar, a prepared operator would do well to see this as an opportunity and not a burden and make the most of inevitable change in the industry.” www.e-gamingexperts.com provides independently-minded consultants to the e-gaming industry that have ‘talked the talk’ and ‘walked the walk’ in all aspects of e-gaming. Londonbased DrPete Inc. helps augment, review and increase revenue through effective use of technology to the betting and gaming industry.
major championships. Khalid Ali, secretary general of ESSA, said: “ESSA fully supports the establishment of the IBIS, and this new information reporting arrangement further cements our sectors’ joint resolve to detect, deter and report corrupt activity in sport.” EGBA secretary general Maarten Haijer added: “The MoUs signed between EGBA, ESSA and IOC send a clear message that the sports betting industry takes the issue of matchfixing very seriously and will face it head on. Sports, the public and betting operators all lose out from match fixing. The regu-
KHALID ALI: ‘ESSA FULLY SUPPORTS THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE IBIS’
lated betting operators work hard to promote a fair and untainted gaming experience for all.” The EGBA and ESSA have been active in the fight against match fixing for many years. As early as 2010 they pioneered with the EU Athletes an education campaign to educate professional sports people about sports betting integrity.
Commission welcomes RFL suspensions INTEGRITY
he Gambling Commission has welcomed the actions of the Rugby Football League (RFL), which has suspended two players after they were found to have breached the sport’s rules relating to betting. Richard Watson, head of the Gambling Commission’s Sports Betting Intelligence Unit, said: “The Gambling Commission’s
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18 BettingBusinessInteractive • MARCH 2014
Sports Betting Intelligence Unit works closely with the Rugby Football League to share intelligence on suspicious betting patterns. We welcome the outcome of this case which shows the RFL is determined to take firm action to uphold their rules on player betting.” The two Batley Bulldogs players were suspended by an
RFL Operational Rules Tribunal for contravening betting rules. Jonny Campbell has been suspended for 12 months for placing bets on a number of matches, including the 2013 Kingstone Press Championship Grand Final, Batley Bulldogs v Sheffield Eagles, in which he played. Campbell placed a bet for the first points of the Grand Final to
come from a Batley penalty goal and placed a handicap bet on the fixture. Ayden Faal has been suspended for six months after placing a bet for the first points of the 2013 Kingstone Press Championship Grand Final to come from a Batley penalty goal. Faal did not play in the match. Both players were investigated
after the activity came to light through intelligence supplied by the Sports Betting Intelligence Unit of the Gambling Commission, with whom the RFL works collaboratively to monitor betting activity. The Tribunal accepted that there was no suggestion of match fixing in the breaches of Operational Rules by Campbell and Faal.
info@kironinteractive.com www.kironinteractive.com
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Betting Business Interactive Edition
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2 B
Essential guide to MONEY LAUNDERING
VIEWPOINT
Crunch times for customer funds requirements
Lotteries welcome 2,000 euro threshold for money laundering safeguards
March 2014
How Playtech is bringing the same gaming experience to several different platforms 32
24 The new BetBOX from Inspired Gaming was heavily demonstrated at ICE
28 How operators need to get prepared for a boost from the World Cup
34 Reflex Gaming brings the pub fruit machine to the mobile phone
36 Bit8’s plans to become one of the leading platform suppliers to the industry
The European Lotteries Association (EL) is supporting a European Parliament report on the Anti-Money Laundering Directive which allows for ‘appropriate control’ of all gambling activities. ast month the European Parliament committees on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) and Civil Liberties (LIBE) adopted their joint report on the European Commission proposal for a revision of the AntiMoney Laundering Directive. EL has consistently called for the extension of the Anti-Money Laundering Directive’s scope to all forms of gambling: given the high financial flows inherent to any gambling activity, it is an area with a high vulnerability to fraud and money laundering where not regulated appropriately, or where the existing regulation is not enforced. EL President Friedrich Stickler: “We had called unambiguously for an extension of the scope of the Directive to all forms of gambling. We welcome the further important step taken by the European Parliament to ensure an appropriate application of the controls on the specific activity that is gambling, thereby allowing Member States to apply the Directive to its full potential.” EL strongly supports the specification brought by the European Parliament of the specific forms of due diligence that should apply: for forms of gambling beyond casinos and online gambling, the controls should apply on the winnings above a threshold of 2,000 euro (£1,652). It argues that this specification rightly addresses the specific risk that can lie in the
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potential fraud with winnings and takes into consideration European customer social habits. EL pointed out that the control on winnings for certain forms of gambling is already in place in a number of Member States and has proven to be adequate. EL therefore calls on the Council to now follow the lead of the European Parliament and also provide for this efficient and adapted way of extending the Directive to all forms of gambling. EL also noted the fact that the European Parliament supports the possibility for Member States to exempt forms of gambling, following a risk assessment. However, EL considers that the provision as adopted in ECON and LIBE, whereby Member States need to seek the approval from the European Commission, goes beyond the necessary and sufficient guarantees of control of national implementations already provided in the Directive and undermines the subsidiarity principle as consistently referred to in the CJEU jurisprudence on gambling. EL therefore hopes this point will be clarified further in the dialogue between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on the Directive. EL believes that the European Parliament plenary will confirm the position adopted by the LIBE and ECON committees in April in order to start discussions with the Council.
Andrew McCarron or those pushing for a lighter regulatory hand over player funds, the Canbet liquidation couldn’t come at a worse time. With the Gambling Commission in the last throes of its consultation on the very matter, the argument for the minimum protection for player funds is severely weakened. In a way it was almost a surprise that the Gambling Act didn’t introduce tighter measures as it was, given the collapse of Betting exchange Sporting Options during its passage through Parliament. Sporting Options was using its customer deposits to seed the exchange markets and when it collapsed, it disappeared with its customers money. But given that this was during the time of great angst over betting exchanges it was viewed as an exchange-only problem, not least because Betfair came to the rescue of the majority of customers to ensure the reputation of the exchange model went unscathed. But what it really did was mask what is a wider liability - an operator using customer cash it has no chance of paying back. It is an issue that has previously bitten Alderney thanks to Full Tilt’s reckless spending after the US froze some of its assets. One only has to look at the fact that the Full Tilt brand is now owned by PokerStars, which is licensed in an Isle of Man jurisdiction that requires far more stringent customer funds protection, to illuminate the differences in approach by the regulator. Now, thanks to Canbet, the UK Gambling Commission finds itself in the same boat. With warning signs as early as last Autumn, Canbet has left the regulator with egg on its face and a lot of angry former customers decrying the way it protects the consumer. Certainly from the customers’ point of view, it seems that the Commission has been taking a Laissez-Faire approach, despite the fact that the regulator has been in constant touch with Canbet since October. In an unusual statement put up in its complaints section, the Commission has laid out its approach and surprisingly suggested that customers use gambling sites at their own risk. It comments: “This case is not the first to demonstrate the significant gap that exists between the level of protection that customers assume they might receive for their gambling deposits and the actual level of protection afforded.” Whatever the justifications for the Commission’s approach, it is in a difficult position because of the current regulations. If player deposits were protected, either by ring fenced accounts or by separate trusts, then the Commission could be much more cocksure when dealing with problem operators. While separate accounts appear to be the absolute minimum requirement asked of remote operators, further protection against fraud as well as insolvency will only boost the Commission’s flagging reputation in this area.
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to ... Online CRYPTO-CURRENCY
Getting the Bitcoin between the teeth
halls and casinos, imagine establishments working entirely in Bitcoin and not having any cash on the premises. This reduces the risk of any hold-ups, employee theft, opportunist or targeted theft as there is nothing to steal. Any customer facing employee working with large volumes of cash will be delighted with that prospect.
Andrew & Andrea Flynn from AA Casino Solutions provide an insight as to why Bitcoin can fit the betting industry so well. ow big is the Bitcoin market? Big enough to be a viable sector for operators? The market for Bitcoin holders is huge. At present there are over 12.4m coins in circulation with another 9m yet to be mined. A general rule of thumb is 10 per cent of the population are gamblers so this can give us a ballpark idea of the amount of coins available for gambling. We also feel that as there are limited options for Bitcoin holders to spend their coins at this stage, which invitingly makes customer conversion easier.
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What are the advantages for gaming operators of offering customers Bitcoin gaming? The advantages for operators are illogically the very same fears that are circulating at this moment regarding Bitcoin. The KYC process (Know Your Customer) has the potential to be more efficient than existing processes. As wallet codes of Bitcoin holders do not disclose customer data, it will be so easy to set up a central database amongst operators to instantly verify gaming Bitcoin holders without the fear of customer poaching. This in turn can also be used for self-exclusion purposes to protect the vulnerable. We acknowledge Bitcoin is volatile in exchange to fiat currencies; however, casino and betting businesses operate in tokens, credits, chips and units. So, customers may transfer coins instantly into the gaming wallet, play at any unit (1.0 or 0.00001 Btc), winnings go straight back into the gaming wallet and the operator clears all wallets back to the customers’
AA CASINO SOLUTIONS’ ANDREW & ANDREA FLYNN
What is Bitcoin? Bitcoin is a digital currency with its own exchange rate determined by market movements. People can obtain Bitcoins by paying real money for them, exchanging them for goods or services, or ‘mining’ them by getting computer systems to solve certain complex maths problems. Bitcoin account at the end of every gaming day. Thus, the customer may play in units they are comfortable with, which encourages more customer longevity, increasing retention and volume of play and deposits. The operator has the ability to clear customer wallets and send coins back to their account which reduces their risk in currency fluctuation. For land based betting shops, bingo
Where does Bitcoin fit into payment processing? Is it any less onerous than real money payment processing? Certainly is. Any i-gaming operator will know having had to work with e-wallets, bank transfers, credit cards and impatient customers waiting for a deposit to come through or winnings withdrawn to a bank account. Instant deposits mean good customer service. Withdrawals have been publicised by Bitcoin advocates as instant which is something we would not recommend though. We would strongly advise any operator to place withdrawals of a certain limit into pending to verify they are legitimate before paying out only for their own protection. Does Bitcoin sit in a loophole at the moment? How long before there is a move to regulate it as a currency? Bitcoin, as any Cryptocurrency, sits in a void right now. There isn’t presently the legislation to forbid or prosecute operators right now regardless of their SOPs, or lack of, and this is only encouraging a darker side to the business. Customers have no regulatory body to protect their interests or to arbitrate a dispute with an operator and this has the potential to throw the gaming industry backwards in terms of social responsibility. At the moment, existing operators are not in any rush to enter into Bitcoin. They seem to feel that their operations must work with Bitcoin simultaneously and this will confuse their operations. We tend to agree here and advise strongly against this.
However, our suggestion is to operate a ‘Bitcoin only’ site apart or work with an exchange than will convert Bitcoin into cash at the point of entry, being either landbased or i-gaming. Ironically, regulators would have a complete transparent view of operators, able to see deposits in real time and trace customers play for the very first time in gaming history. At present, the governments are still undecided and until the major operators express a need for Bitcoin regulation, then regulators do not seem at haste to act. Do you think the security around Bitcoin could do with being tightened up or have things been blown out of proportion by a jittery media? In light of the recent events with the MtGox Exchange shutting down, forced regulation may be considered in the not too distant future. There has been a known ‘transaction malleability’ bug since 2011 which enabled nefarious attackers to create a parallel transaction alongside a genuine transaction that took place. This bug only affected exchanges etc. who hadn’t taken the trouble to update their software systems to counteract the problem and the Bitcoin community are now working together to completely resolve the issue across the entire network. Everyone should be prudent and guard safely anything of value and Bitcoin is no different. There have been cases of hacking due to neglect but it doesn’t seem appropriate to dismiss Bitcoin because of this. There are methods available for protecting Bitcoin and we don’t advise anyone to keep all of theirs in the same wallet but the Bitcoin still looks a much safer payment system than using a credit card, ewallet or cash. Bitcoin is a new concept and we agree requires thinking out of the box but should not be banished without knowing the full facts and understanding the benefits.
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Essential Guide to ... Online CALLCREDIT INFORMATION GROUP
SECURITY
What does the future look like for Know Your Customer (KYC)?
Protecting against the hackers
Rob Meakin, market development manager at Callcredit Information Group, talks about the changes that the mobile platform has brought to customer relations. The remote gaming sector continues to grow apace, in spite of continuing unsettled economic conditions. The emergence of mobile as a dominant channel, combined with the omnipresence of smart phones and tablets has contributed to this growth. In addition new acquisition routes including social media are helping drive up customer numbers. The emerging dominance of mobile presents some interesting challenges, but also provides a great opportunity for more sophisticated and arguably more effective KYC. Whilst mobile capability has been around for some time, it is increasingly becoming seen as the primary channel. In the past mobile would have been used alongside a web account, but we are now seeing registrations via mobile device, facilitated by the relaxation of controls on gambling apps in the major app marketplaces. With the ongoing decline in PC usage it is becoming more common for mobile devices to be the only connected device consumers have access to. Consumers are becoming more accustomed to completing online forms via mobile – in the past data entry for account registration would have been viewed as cumbersome by customers – but it is now becoming more broadly acceptable, which is again contributing to the increase in mobile registrations. Data entry issues that present a challenge for matching in eIDV services are in many ways becoming less relevant – and are hugely offset by the additional wealth of data that can be harvested from the mobile device. It would seem that applications from native devices, those with GPS, microphone and cameras built in are gaining the upper ground against html5 apps – giving the users a richer
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experience as the native device features can be employed. This also means that the same native device features can be used to capture information for verification and authentication from within the apps. A wealth of data can be harvested from mobile devices to provide unique footprints that are almost impossible to mimic and specific properties can be used to pinpoint location, verify contact details and correlate with other information provided during registration. A range of innovative verification and authentication technologies have been developed to provide additional security mechanisms. A number of services are now available which utilise biometric data such as voice prints, finger prints and facial recognition. Whilst for now these are focussed on authentication post registration it is not unforeseeable that such technologies could be used for verification – if we can successfully overcome the challenges that harvesting biometric data present from a data protection perspective. So as the industry diversifies and becomes more focussed on mobile, and the range of security capability dramatically increases, the key challenge is to deliver a broad based KYC capability which caters for the diversity and exploits new technology. The power of effective KYC processes lies in the ability to combine the information from a range of verification mechanisms and serve out IDV through a single channel that can be easily customised and consumed by operators. Callcredit has a comprehensive suite of capabilities that can be deployed to help operators mitigate compliance and fraud risk both in the UK and internationally. Capabilities vary by territory but range from basic IDV and age verification, through AML level IDV against CRA and government issued databases, and onto validation of bank account and card details - include a unique ability to independently triangulate the identity, customer address, and payment details. We can also deploy knowledge based authentication processes to help operators ensure their customers are who they say they are. Moving forwards we intend to add additional layers of security that will enable operators to identify the devices being used, highlighting incidents where devices are used on multiple occasions to carry out fraudulent activity. We believe that KYC is not purely about security but that customer experience and player value are also critical. We are working to deliver a one stop shop solution that brings together digital marketing, security and customer profiling, enabling operators to target prospects more precisely, confirm identities, verify age and understand the potential value of individual customers enabling early customer management to be tailored to customer value - this will
Andy Aplin, technical director at Accumuli Security, talks about how a multi-layered approach to security can increase the odds for betting sites. As with any other ecommerce business gambling and betting companies rely on a safe, secure and available website to efficiently serve customers and ultimately be profitable. The ideal state for these websites is 100 per cent uptime with excellent performance and connectivity, and a safe platform for its multitude of users. As threats have evolved over the years, so too has security. Previously it was enough to have a firewall in place that mapped an organisation’s security to the structure of its website. This form of policy control ensured that users only went where they were allowed to by dictating the paths and certain URLs that they could access. While it is still a valid approach, security has become more sophisticated to deal with the magnitude and quality of attacks. Gambling and betting sites need to be protected against three main types of attacks - brute force incursions, such as DDoS attacks (distributed denial of service) that can target betting sites during certain high traffic events, such as Wimbledon, the Winter Games, FA Cup Final, in an effort to affect the odds or crash the site; reconnaissance attacks that probe websites looking for functional weaknesses so that hacking can occur to achieve an end, for example manipulating odds; and slow-andlow attacks that look for vulnerabilities in the capabilities of a site, that is inhibiting the site by opening up a connection that uses all the resources of that site to perform a particular task. Protecting organisations against these threats requires a comprehensive intelligent approach – a layered strategy. Typically the use of a good security platform can assist in DDoS mitigation by protecting against volumetric attacks. The key issue here for security teams is to ensure that while protecting against these brute force attacks, there is no disruption to normal business. This is particularly important during large impact events, such as cup finals or high profile games, which naturally create more traffic to the sites. The platform must be able to distinguish between player traffic and potentially harmful traffic. This type of security platform would also provide a protection mechanism for the slow-andlow attacks by ensuring that no one user or small group can affect the performance of the site. Another level of sophistication is required of a security solution to address the so-called reconnaissance threats. This is typically a more targeted approach that creates traps for potential hackers. These traps are set up to resemble vulnerabilities, encouraging hackers down a specific route. This enables the security team to effectively capture the hacker and identify their location via the IP address and geo-location tracking. In addition, the use of network analytics and a SIEM (security information and event management) solution enables the security team to gain complete visibility over the entire process and adopt a more proactive approach. The use of event correlation enables staff to gather multiple, unrelated incidences and track a commonality between them. The SIEM solution works in conjunction with the security platform. If, for example, the platform identifies an IP address as being potentially harmful, it provides a trigger point for SIEM, which can then be used to identify that same IP address bringing requests to the website. Given the risk levels that hackers represent for gambling and betting organisations, it is often this multi-layered, intelligent approach that incorporates SIEM that is the difference between identifying and dealing with a threat before it can wreak havoc, and merely reacting to an attack once it has already began.”
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Retail Rick Mountney, our director of content development, and his team have created some brilliant new titles and the WMS additions have proved an exciting proposition.
SG Gaming has unveiled three new exclusive titles from WMS which will be available to SG Gaming customers. Zeus II, Black Knight and Over the Rainbow will become available to SG Gaming customers in the LBO, arcade and bingo sectors over the coming months.
“” Phil Horne Group managing director SG Gaming U.K
GAMING MACHINES
INSPIRED’S BETBOX
‘The most demonstrated product at ICE’ Lucy Buckley, marketing director at Inspired Gaming, discusses how the company fared at last month’s ICE show. he new B2 machine measures are coming on nicely - do you think they will be effective? We do not want problem gamblers playing on any of our gaming machines and we are committed to helping those most vulnerable to addiction. The industry has consulted with problem gambling experts and explored lots of options - we want the new measures to be effective in minimising harm and are confident they will be. Mark Griffiths, professor of gambling studies at Nottingham Trent University and an expert on behavioural addictions, provided significant input into the content of the new ABB Code. The responsible gambling mandatory ‘pop-ups’ are an onscreen intervention that lead to a 20 second suspension in play - this intervention was a key recommendation from academ-
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ic research carried out by Professor Griffiths. We will present a report this year that hopes to prove, with statistical evidence, that the measures have helped people stay in control and prompted more players who have a problem to seek help. You have so much content - what was the stand out game you had at the show? For the UK, our stand out game at the moment is our newest Freespins+ game called White Knight. It’s our first slot game to also be developed in HTML5 and is available for machines, online and mobile. Our HTML5 games are available to online and mobile operators via our new Virgo RGS, which allows easy integration with existing platforms. For international markets, such as Italy, Colombia and Mexico, we will soon be
launching Diamond Goddess, which is a premium Freespins+ game that has proved popular in the UK and with international focus groups. We’re exhibiting at Enada Rimini and Fadja Colombia next and look forward to launching more content for these markets soon. For Virtual Sports betting, we have the widest range of 10 sports and four number games. Two new sports coming soon to our customers are Virtual Cricket and Virtual Darts - both will be launched in the coming months and should be very popular in the UK across retail, online and mobile channels. Our big Virtual Sports launch for ICE was Virtual Basketball. People were saying it’s our most realistic player animation yet. Basketball is a top 5 sport for online betting and is popular in Italy, Eastern Europe and China - regions where we are growing our presence.
What can you tell us about your BetBOX product? BetBOX must have been the most demonstrated product at ICE - we processed an impressive 680 bets in three days via our BetBOX kiosks and cashiers. I’m sure it would have been more if we’d been allowing more than one bet per person - it was getting quite competitive! BetBOX is our Virtual Sports Bet Management Solution (BMS) that allows any operator to easy set up and manage a Virtual Sports betting bar or sportsbook area in their venue. Virtual Sports appeal to a wide range of players, from sports betting fans to groups of occasional gamblers. With BetBOX operators can schedule events for every 4 minutes, 24/7, providing a constant source of fun community entertainment in any venue.
www.sg-gaming.com
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Retail SYSTEM
B2B content R et ai l
Through the looking glass ne of the more innovative pieces of equipment at ICE was Betologic’s Google Glass demonstration which allowed users to have odds displayed to them on the inside of their spectacles. The Cyprus-based company had a strong team on hand to display its product offerings, which included both software and hardware betting solutions. Marketing manager Stella Stylianou commented: “It was a great show in general. Nice stands and promotions and a massive attendance. Our visitors were interested in both our retail and online solutions. I would say that the majority was most interested in the retail solution though. Our self-service terminals definitely brought visitors to our stand.”
O www.sis.tv info@sis.tv
B2B epos R et ai l
gaming B2B machines
BROADCAST
R et ai l
SIS gets graphic in 3D atellite Information Services (SIS), the leading provider of end-to-end products and services to the betting and broadcast industries, has linked up with 3D graphics experts PinPoint, who will become SIS’s visualisation partner for digital output. Paul Baker, SIS’s director of strategic development, said: “We’re delighted to have this partnership with PinPoint, the world’s leading provider of 3D visualisation. Their expert teams and state of the art technology will interpret and visualise our content in a multitude of forms, making for an even more compelling and relevant viewing experience for our clients and their customers, especially in the digital space. This partnership represents an exciting development for both companies.”
EPOS
Coral takes on portable EPOS technology Bet A Technology, supplier of EPOS, call centre, and online transactional software, has penned a deal with Coral. The specialist provider, which services betting operators throughout the UK and Ireland as well as 22 global territories, will provide the bookmaker with a portable EPOS system for its hospitality events. The technology made its on-course debut at a horseracing meeting at Ascot in November and the Welsh Grand National at Chepstow at the end of December. Following positive feedback from these trials it is now set to be used by Coral in its VIP areas at events including the Cheltenham Festival in March. A Bet A operations manager Jason Hardman said: “We’re delighted Coral has endorsed the system as it proves how flexible and adaptable the technology behind the product is to use. We’re confident it will provide a better service not only for operators and their cashiers, but a much better experience for customers who can now expect all the facilities of a modern betting shop at their table on-course.” Dave Rigg, head of retail development at Coral, said: “Having a portable EPOS sys-
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THE SYSTEM WAS USED AT THE WELSH GRAND NATIONAL AT CHEPSTOW
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B2B Retail Listings
tem has proved very popular with staff and customers alike and allows us to provide a best in class betting service wherever we’re offering it.” The unique system, which utilises bluetooth or WiFi access, combines fixed EPOS terminals with tablet devices connected to printers, that allow cashiers to hand out betting slips on the move. It also provides operators with the opportunity to offer customers bets on any event logged in to the EPOS system back at headquarters and, for the first time, delivers returns information on their slips. Cashiers can even process bets taken elsewhere on the system during busy times to speed up turnover, while management have remote access to field books and betting reports in order to assess.
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iron Interactive plans to launch five new virtual games this year, including trotting, motor racing, cycling, table tennis and STEVEN SPARTINOS badminton, as well as a new Keno game. Much of the content will be available via the new Vision System that maximises in-shop screen retail estate by using a split-screen solution. It also has a new iteration of bet management system BetMan on self-service betting ter-
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minals and via a mobile deployment on tablets. Steven Spartinos, co-CEO of Kiron, said: “We’re very excited about unveiling so many new releases which we’re confident will interest a diverse range of operators focused on land-based, online, and mobile channels.”
nities including margin-driving combination bets. Thanks to the unprecedented levels of authenticity and greatly revamped 3D visualisation, we provide virtual sports betting simulation at its best.”
LITERATURE Better looking Football etradar has revamped the Virtual Football League with enhanced 3D visualisations, improved player animations and the introduction of new stadiums, elements and features. The relaunch coincides with the launch of Betradar’s new Remote Gaming Server (RGS) which allows a seamless integration of the product in any gaming platform. For land-based gaming operators, Betradar offers a new terminal turn-key solution which covers all software needs. Betradar’s managing director Erik Lorenz commented: “Virtual Football League’s unique league concept with 2400 fixtures per day represents fast-paced betting action with unlimited betting opportu-
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Return of Arkle 014 is the 50th anniversary of the first of Arkle’s three Cheltenham Gold Cups. Ahead of the Cheltenham Festival Racing Post Books has published an anniversary edition of Sean Magee’s highly acclaimed edition of Arkle: The Story of the World’s Greatest Steeplechaser. In a Racing Post poll in 2004, Arkle was voted readers’ favourite racehorse ever, despite the fact that he had not raced for nearly four decades. He was ranked by the Timeform organisation as the best steeplechaser of all time, with a rating of 212 - twenty pounds superior to the current jumping superstar Sprinter Sacre and way ahead of other equine heroes like Desert Orchid (187) and Kauto Star (191).
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Sportsbook
“” It’s a huge year for bookmakers, with the World Cup certain to be the biggest betting event the world has ever seen, and now is the perfect time for sportsbooks to boost their football service.
Ronnie Whelan Business development director Sporting Solutions
Sporting Solutions has significantly extended the football coverage it offers its partners, providing pre-event and in-play pricing on over 4,000 football matches each month during 2014, as well as offering an extended range of player markets.
SBTECH
Define your goals this summer
THE WORLD CUP IS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR BOOKMAKERS
The World Cup is the biggest sporting event of the most popular sports betting product - football. Markets are being opened as early as a year prior to the tournament and still players are interested. The demand for betting on the World Cup event reaches new highs every four years, as the popularity and ease of betting grows exponentially and people are looking to place a bet. These players are magnificently spread on a scale between recreational players wanting to place a bet on their home team to professional punters looking at an event where matches could have many predictable outcomes or markets that seem an easy catch. Some of the biggest beneficiaries of the World Cup event are bookmakers that report record levels of activity during the event, not just from the growth of turnover from existing customers but also from their ability to easily return many lapsed players and, most importantly, the jump in acquisition bringing bigger number of sign-ups from regular segments and even bigger number of signups from new segments that are new to the betting world. One thing to be clearly highlighted during the World Cup event regardless of the tournament’s outcome is the need for a solid
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sports betting product; if you don’t have it you will see your players go somewhere else - it is that simple. Existing bookmakers are putting many resources and efforts in preparing for the event with big marketing budgets and special activities and promotions aimed at exploiting the full potential of the event. However, players will eventually go where betting variety is the biggest. Sure you can tempt them with bigger bonuses and rewards, but you will have to return your investment by generating the right margin out of the turnover you will get with it. In reality this doesn’t work for most bookmakers. It is not easy to open as many 100 markets on an event and still generate margin. If you can’t do that and still have a brand that can monetise big on the event, then SBTech has a solution for you. We are offering the biggest variety of World Cup markets, allowing you to focus on your marketing efforts without having to worry about turnover and margins return your investment. Gaming operators are usually reporting a decrease of sign ups and gaming activity from existing players during the event, the reason is simple - everyone is betting on the World Cup. If operators don’t have a sports betting product to offer, then their players will go somewhere else. Again SBTech’s
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Ron Zlluf, marketing director at SBTech, explains how operators need to be ready to tackle the World Cup.
sportsbook is the perfect answer to the problem by allowing gaming operators to keep their existing players active while reaching new segments of players to sign up, bet and potentially be converted to play with one of the gaming products their offer. The SBTech live betting platform offers operators a unique competitive edge in the booming live betting market by giving access to 200+ bet types across 20+ types of sports with more than 10,000 live events per month. Currently, 70 per cent of SBTech’s partners’ turnover comes from live betting. The World Cup will generate lots of in play activity and so a strong live betting product will
help players feel the excitement and bet while watching the games and return to the operator that provides them with the best experience. SBTech also has a cutting-edge mobile HTML5-based product, supported by all leading smartphones and tablets, provides an industry-leading user experience, with easy, smooth navigation and intuitive betting. SBTech’s mobile product features full banking, cashier functionality and various personalisation elements so operators can interact with players effectively. Mobile will be a bigger channel than ever this summer, so operators need to make sure their offer is up to scratch.”
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SYSTEMS
ISBB goes live with ABP variant
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APIs. Ebbe Groes, CEO of EveryMatrix, said: “This launch demonstrates our responsiveness to client requests and our commitment to constantly improve our solutions and stay ahead of the game.”
PASCAL BLYAU
ritish sports betting software provider LVS Ltd and its French counterpart, lottery solutions specialist Lotsys SAS (FDJ Group), have gone live with the system they jointly delivered to the Israel Sports Betting Board (ISBB), exclusive rights operator for sports betting in Israel. LVS and Lotsys won an international tender to supply their Advanced Betting & Lottery Platform technology (ABP) to ISBB in the form of a customised ABP platform comprising a sportsbook, a transactional engine, web and mobile site. ISBB Chairman Zach Fishbein commented: “This solution provides the foundation to sustain ISBB’s growth for the next decade.” This project is part of ISBB’s strategy to upgrade its offer to customers and distribute a much broader range of sports and markets. ISBB is enhancing productivity with the ABP sportsbook automation suite and ABP open architecture to enable realtime integration with satellite systems and online services. CEO Itshak Lary added:
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PLATFORM BetConstruct brings betting to Goldenpalace eading online and land-based sports betting and gaming solutions provider BetConstruct has signed an exclusive contract with Goldenpalace.be to provide it with its cuttingedge sportsbook platform and services. BetConstruct’s comprehensive, advanced online and mobile sportsbook platform covers more than 14,000 live matches and more than 50 sports per month. Goldenpalace marketing and business manager Frédéric François said: “With only five months to go before the start of the Brazil World Cup Golden-
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“We have chosen modernity and flexibility with LVS and Lotsys.” LVS CEO Simon Ordish said: “ISBB is a very interesting customer; they are sharp and highly skilled in sports betting and IT. They know what they want and this project was a great opportunity to boost our roadmap.” ABP is a new generation of betting solution developed on modern yet proven technologies, such as Java and Oracle for the backend and Ruby on Rails for the frontend, and exposes all its services through an open REST API, considerably facilitating integration processes. Pascal Blyau, LVS managing director and FDJ development director, summed up: “While ABP was initially designed for online betting operators, this kind of project allows us to extend ABP into a much more global and multi-channel solution purpose-fitted for sports betting and lottery operators. ABP is a new class of gaming solution and is becoming a best-seller in the lottery world.”
Vyer vying for online position etTech Gaming has partnered with Van der Vyver Racing to launch online sportsbook Playabets.com. Van der Vyver Racing, which was established more than 65 years ago, has betting shops throughout the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. Launching the fully localised online and mobile Playabets.com provides wagering opportunities on a comprehensive variety of events to bettors from across the country. Brad Van der Vyver of Playabets.com said: “Now is the time to secure the company’s future and take it into a new era, as we go online under the Playabets.com brand. BetTech was the only choice to help us make this vital transition.”
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ZEturf adds fixed odds portnco, the B2B division of French operator France Pari, has added ZEturf to its list of clients and will supply the horse racing tote specialist with its fixed odds betting and trading platform. ZEturf had been looking to diversify its offer and include online betting into its product mix and will launch its new bet-
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palace.be is now equipped to deal with its ‘football-mad’ betting public. We went through a long selection process, shortlisted several companies, but in the end BetConstruct had the strongest sportsbook offering, particularly in terms of live in-play betting.”
Seamless move he EveryMatrix sports betting solution OddsMatrix now provides support of seamless transaction integration into third party back-office systems. OddsMatrix Seamless is currently live with several clients using the GamMatrix gaming management platform and has already had a significant bottom line impact in terms of cross-sales from casino to sports and vice versa. All the existing bonus functionality is fully supported and integrated with the new seamless
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EMMANUEL DE ROHAN CHABOT
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ting offers in time for this year’s World cup in June once France’s regulator ARJEL has agreed to it. The company headed up by Emmanuel de Rohan Chabot will benefit from Sportnco’s betting software and back office solutions while Sportnco will produce prices and manage risk and launch ZEturf’s mobile betting app.
year, showcasing our latest products and offering fresh ideas by providing smart gaming and betting solutions to the industry. Innovation and out of the box thinking is part of our philosophy and strategy to re-invigorate the gaming industry, with a wave of platform based, multi-device digital content for the player.”
First time for Vermantia ermantia was a first time exhibitor at ICE this year and its product offering included state of the art gaming, live sports and racing content, delivered across multiple media platforms including mobile, retail and internet. Filippos Antonopoulos, CEO of Vermantia, commented: “As one of the flagship events for the gaming industry, we are pleased to be first time exhibitors this
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DATA
BetBright in right direction with GPS
INTEGRITY
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Australian deals for Fraud Detection System portradar has been busy down under and recruited the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) as its latest Integrity Partner while also extending its partnership with Football Federation Australia (FFA). Under the agreements, Sportradar’s Fraud Detection System (FDS) will monitor Super Rugby fixtures involving Australian teams and international test matches held in Australia for signs of betting-related corruption and fraudulent activity. It will also cover the A-League, FFA Cup competitions and now the state National Premier Leagues (NPLs) for the 2014 season. In addition Sportradar has become the ‘Official Sports Data Partner of the National Premier Leagues’.
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ot on the heels of their deal with Gala Coral, Super Soccer and Abelson Info used ICE as the platform for news of their latest customer as an agreement with one of the sector’s newer players, BetBright, was signed on the opening day of the event. Oddsfeed’s Jeevan Jeyaratnam, along with Ed Abelson and Simon Temple of Abelson Info, met with BetBright’s COO Brian O’Dwyer to exchange contracts. This is the third new client for the goalscorer and resulting system in the past four months and highlights the growing value of the product. The GPS system provides pre-match goalscorer prices complemented with real-time resulting from Abelson all delivered through a JSON feed. The feed is designed to work with any back-end system and is a huge labour saving tool in any trading room.
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O’Dwyer’s technical team were particularly impressed by the ease of integration his team has only been working on the feed amalgamation for a month and yet is almost ready to ‘go live’ now that contracts have been exchanged. The breadth of coverage, combined with rapid, real-time and partial settlement are emerging as the crucial attributes for the growing success of this product. The aim is to further increase the scope, dependent on client requests, as well as to extend the range of derivative markets. The implementation of such an advanced service for, a relative newcomer, BetBright showcases the acuity to detail and desire to compete in what is an increasingly competitive online sector. A headline sponsorship deal of the £100,000 Kempton Park Chase now the BetBright Chase shows the firm means business.
& ODDSFEED
Super Soccer and Abelson Info’s Goalscorer Prices and Settlement system (GPS) offers a useful tool for all kinds of bookmakers. The bespoke nature of the product allows everyone to benefit from this complete goalscorer solution, with packages tailored to meet your requirements. Delivering real, not scraped, prices for market creation the settlement system speeds up the resulting process, easing staffing levels for clients. A Complete Goalscorer Market Solution Delivering Real not Scraped Odds Efficient & Cost Effective Solution Pre-Match Goalscorers with Prices Resulting System using a live feed Real-Time Results Delivered for Quicker Settlement Designed for Integration with any Back-end Betting System Large labour savings while extending coverage levels All delivered via a single JSON data feed
Super Soccer: +44 (0) 121 666 4500 info@supersocceroddsfeed.com Abelson Info: +44 (0) 208 996 9595 info@abelsoninfo.com
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iGaming Dino Slot Microgaming has signed a licensing agreement with Universal Partnerships & Licensing to produce online slot games centred on one of the biggest film trilogies in motion picture history, Jurassic Park.
Grail trail Microgaming launched Avalon II: The Quest For The Grail at ICE last month - the sequel to one of its longest-standing and most successful titles. Avalon II takes players on an epic quest to retrieve the Grail which has Betfair goes Quickfire Quickfire, powered by Microgam- been stolen from its secret resting, has signed an agreement with ing place. Betfair to supply its online casino and mobile games. Head of Quickfire Ashley Sandyford-Sykes said: “Quickfire will be the perfect addition for Betfair.”
Romantic move Microgaming has developed a bingo product around one of its slots - Immortal Romance Bingo. David Reynolds, head of bingo at Microgaming, said: “This is a real game-changer and industry first concept, and we’re very excited about this launch.”
POKER
Coral takes up Playtech’s hand
CAPTION: PLAYTECH’S EYE-CATCHING ICE STAND DEMONSTRATED HOW ITS CONTENT CAN BE ACCESSED IN A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENTS USING A SINGLE WALLET BB114-B2BIGAMING-PLAYTECHSTAND.JPG
The mobile poker solution from Playtech will soon be available via one of its major customers - Coral Interactive. laytech, the international designer, developer and licensor of software and services for the online, mobile, TV and landbased gaming industry, has provided its mobile poker solution to one of its top licensees, Coral Interactive. This launch is an extension of Coral Interactive’s current poker offering, allowing its players to enjoy their favourite poker games on the go using Playtech’s Mobile Hub functionality. Built on HTML5 technology, the Mobile Hub is compatible with web browsers, native applications and all HTML5 ready devices. Suitable for both tablet and mobile devices, players can access the games anytime, anywhere and choose from a large variety of Cash Tables and Speed Games. Craig Perry, Coral’s head of poker, said: “Coral Poker continues to see very strong year-on-year growth and we’re delighted to
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have added poker to our mobile offering giving players the full gaming experience on the move. As we strive to recruit more and more recreational poker players we see mobile as the ideal tool to engage them.” Playtech’s mobile platform also features a wide range of marketing tools that allow operators greater flexibility in running their business and maximising their cross-sell opportunities. Shay Segev, Playtech’s COO, commented: “We are very excited to launch our Mobile Poker offering with Coral Interactive. In today’s fast paced environment where more and more activities are performed on the go, offering players the ability to play their favourite games anytime, anywhere is vital for any operator. I am sure the mobile platform and the extensive range of marketing tools available on Playtech’s Mobile Hub, will provide Coral Interactive with a
strong competitive advantage in the Poker space.” Playtech has also announced its co-operation with games manufacturer Casino Technology. The co-operation between the two companies will feature five of Casino Technology’s most popular game titles across all Playtech platforms during 2014. Using Playtech’s cross-platform technology, its operators’ players will be able to enjoy these hits anytime and transition freely across platforms for their convenience. With a wide variety of platforms on offer including mobile, tablet, desktop and retail machines, players will enjoy a truly borderless gaming experience. All five games will also be ported through Playtech’s retail subsidiary, Videobet and is designed to take Playtech’s retail offering to the next level, making it a first choice for players. Segev commented: “Playtech is ex-
tremely excited to work with Casino Technology. As a proven games expert in the European market we are certain the games offered by Casino Technology through our channels will provide a strong competitive advantage to our licensees and will allow them to attract additional players across all platforms. We strongly believe the integration of Casino Technology’s games with our cross-platform solution will create the ultimate player experience and will contribute tremendously to our one stop shop solution and retail offering in particular.” Rossi McKee , Casino Technology’s VP marketing, added: “Expansion on the global market space and popularisation of the products through convergence platforms is lining up with the new objectives that we have committed at its 15th anniversary and we are very happy that the first step was made with such a renowned and trustful partner like Playtech.”
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SLOTS
LIVE CASINO
Boyles gets Realistic
White Hat Gaming adds Ezugi Live Casino
ealistic Games is to roll out a full suite of desktop games with Boylesports. The slots and table content, which will be available on the Irish bookmaker’s Games tab, follows the success of the HTML5 games on their mobile games site. Among the titles will be Roulette and Blackjack, and the popular slot Super Graphics Upside Down. Boylesports’ Fraser Linkleter said: “Realistic’s games have been very popular on mobile devices and we had no hesitation in taking their desktop content. The attention to detail behind the games is second to none and I’d be very hopeful that they will perform as well on desktop as they have done on mobile.”
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zugi, the innovative live dealer gaming system provider, has announced that White Hat Gaming will be integrating its Live Casino solution to their gaming platform. The distribution deal sees Ezugi provide its entire portfolio of games including Black Jack, Roulette, Baccarat and Live Lottery. All the live dealer games will be available in a mobile HTML5 version as well as the Android native application. Ezugi has recently also announced that it plans to integrate a Hybrid Black Jack solution to allow unlimited players at a black jack table and increase operator’s revenues.
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Crockfords goes Live LeoVegas takes up Yggdrasil ull-service games provider Yggdrasil Gaming, has signed a licensing agreement with LeoVegas.com to supply the online and mobile casino operator with its entire lottery and casino games portfolio. Gustaf Hagman, co- founder and director of LeoVegas, said: “Working with Yggdrasil is a natural progression for us as we focus on building a strong offering in the Nordic market. Yggdrasil’s strategic understanding of the gaming market and mobile in particular is clearly visible from their futureproof product portfolio and platform. They are innovative and enable LeoVegas to differentiate our offering in the Nordic market.”
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God game illiams Interactive, now a part of the Scientific Games Corporation, has released Zeus III, a new online theme from its library of authentic Vegasstyle slot games and the first game online to be powered by the gambler-favourite Reel Boost game engine. Zeus III is available in both desktop and mobile-optimised versions for gaming sites integrated with the Williams Interactive Remote Game Server. Tom Wood, director casino product management, commented: “By launching the game for players on desktop, tablets, and smart phones, we’re providing this premium slot experience to players wherever they prefer to play - at home or on the go.”
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omtrade Gaming and Genting Alderney have announced the launch of its Crockfords Live Casino. Mayfair casino players will be able to enjoy a VIP online experience from one of the most respected operators in the London casino market. Peter Nolan, managing director of Genting Alderney, said: “It is very important for us to have a high quality Live Casino solution which is designed for our VIP customers. Comtrade Gaming were able to deliver game software that replicates the high standards of Genting’s land based clubs. Our online players expect to receive the same exceptional service that they get in our Mayfair casinos.”
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SLOTS
Net Entertainment discovers Aliens nline casino games provider Net Entertainment revealed that it has developed Aliens, a new branded video slot based on the cult sci-fi horror franchise. Aliens is Net Entertainment’s first ever casino game with real-time 3D graphics illustrating its commitment to innovation. The Search, The Encounter and The Hive, all elements taken from the 1970s classic, comprise the three game levels players need to conquer in this video slot. There are up to x14 Multipliers in ‘The Search’ and x240 bet rewards for surviving ‘The Hive’. The film’s sinister beauty is captured perfectly within the game, which is full of unique win sequences that will keep fans on the edge of their seats set against a horrifying soundtrack. Aliens was launched in front of a packed audience at the ICE Totally Gaming conference at ExCeL London on Tuesday 4 February. This latest game joins Net Entertainment’s standout branded content portfolio that already features Creature from the Black Lagoon, South Park, Scarface and Frankenstein. The game will officially be launched on 24 April 2014. “Aliens is a genuine classic and we’re very pleased to announce our newest best–inclass video slot as we continue to drive the online casino market forward through better games,” commented Per Eriksson, president and CEO of Net Entertainment. “We’re certain our latest innovative branded offering will provide excellent value to operators while giving players the thrill of their lives. The real-time 3D graphics demonstrate our commitment to innovation.”
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Vivo joins the Matrix veryMatrix has added live dealer software from Vivo Gaming to its CasinoEngine product. This enhancement to CasinoEngine will include unique live dealer games such as Craps, Caribbean Poker and multi table baccarat, alongside classic casino games for PC and mobile. EveryMatrix believes that Vivo Gaming’s reputation and client base in Asia, coupled with EveryMatrix’s product they can further engage the market out there. “We are delighted to partner with a respectable and dependable powerhouse such as EveryMatrix. EveryMatrix is the perfect platform to boost Vivo’s live games and casino feeds from around the world,” commented Nimi Toubul, COO at Vivo Gaming.
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Pub gaming comes to hand K manufacturer of pub fruit machines Reflex Gaming has brought its expertise to the mobile App market with a unique social gaming compendium. Reflex is well established in the UK as a supplier of machines for pubs, clubs, arcades and bingo halls. The App currently offers 14 UK specific games, which are variants of successful land-based titles from the pub, club, easy play (arcade and bingo) and casino sectors. Among these games are the popular pub fruit machine titles, Alice’s Wonderland and Lady Luck Double Take, which topped UK pub retailers’ machine charts when they were released. This is the first compendium from Reflex, and the combination of proven land-based games and Facebook and Twitter integration to increase credits, has gone down extremely well with players. “Our reach has grown significantly week on week since we launched this App in October last year, said Reflex Gaming managing director Quentin Stott. “We have a pipeline of new game titles coming through which will be released as updates in order to retain players’ engagement with our App and further broaden its overall appeal. Social Gaming is a very exciting sector at the moment, and as the Reflex App offers the widest range of UK specific games on the market, we have a clearly defined market place to cater for and build upon.” Reflex also took the App and its range of land-based machines to January’s ICE shows at London’s Excel where they were extremely well received, and the App specifically, has led to some potential collaborative opportunities with other businesses.
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SLOTS Building up
PLATFORM
Buzz around new titles
abcat has launched its most innovative and successful real-money game yet, Castle Builder. Already a record-breaking title in the Austrian market, Castle Builder allows players to travel through a medieval fantasyland populated by brave knights and beautiful princesses. The game has been developed using Odobo’s bespoke HTML5 Game Development Kit (GDK) resulting in a game that utilises the latest development technologies to deliver exceptional cross-platform compatibility. Rabcat’s CEO Thomas Schleischitz said: “Castle Builder is the most innovative, challenging and compelling game we’ve ever developed. We’re proud that, through the Odobo platform, we’re now able to bring this successful game to an international audience.”
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Jason Lorch, brand manager at NYX Gaming Group, reveals his firm’s experience of ICE. hat was different about ICE this year for NYX Group? Not so different, just even busier! After a stellar year in which Merlin’s Millions Superbet really came to prominence and Foxin’ Wins took on all comers, the diary was full as partners new and old look to leverage NextGen games via what is the industry’s best distribution network.
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Innovation’s what you need et Entertainment picked up the prestigious Innovator of the Year title at the International Gaming Awards last month to underline its position as a leading provider of high-quality online casino games. “Innovation is a vital part of Net Entertainment’s DNA and it’s a huge achievement to be recognised for our hard work at the International Gaming Awards,” commented Per Eriksson, president and CEO of Net Entertainment. “Net Entertainment’s mission is to continue to drive the online casino market through better games and this prestigious prize reflects our position at the forefront of the industry.”
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What product garnered most attention? New titles created quite a buzz for their unique new USPs built on the classic solidity of a NextGen Gaming engine, 3D anime & bespoke sounds: follow-ups to our own killer IP such as the all ways pays Medusa II, Merlin’s
launch, Norsk Tipping is challenging foreign betting companies not licensed in Norway by providing attractive games that are not as aggressive as the cross border operators’. Responsible Gaming is our trademark,” said Norsk Tipping CEO Torbjørn Almlid.
Game of Thrones icrogaming has signed a licensing agreement to develop online slots based on the award-winning and epic HBO television series, Game of Thrones. The show’s intricate plot and fantastical
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GTech goes Norsk orsk Tipping has launched its first range of iGaming products exclusively for the Norwegian market through an agreement with GTech. Norsk Tipping was asked by the Norwegian Ministry of Culture to develop online games to provide the Norwegian public with an attractive offering and at the same time be at the forefront of Responsible Gaming. “With this
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Magic Re-spins with variable ante-bet, Easy Slider with selectable volatility at every spin and Extra Cash’s dual re-spin / sticky wild attraction. What else were you promoting? Mobile mobile mobile! ICE is a very international show - where was your most unexpected enquiry from? Expect the unexpected at ICE! I didn’t encounter any kebab salesmen looking for in store terminals this year, but watch this space as the most unexpected enquiry should transition to a headline game release in the next few months.
themes will take centre stage in Microgaming’s adaptation, set to be released in 2014. Based on the best-selling book series “A Song of Ice and Fire,” by George R.R. Martin, Game of Thrones follows kings and queens, knights and renegades, liars and noblemen as they vie for power and a chance to sit on the Iron Throne of Westeros. Josh Goodstadt, director of HBO Global Licensing, said: “We’re thrilled to be working with Microgaming, a giant in its field, and we have every confidence that the show’s active fan base will be very excited to find another new way to engage with the show.”
www.reflex-gaming.co.uk
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Back office 1-Tap from Betfred
B2B Back Office Listings
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The Bookmakers’ Trade Fair 2014 October 9th 2014 at Wolverhampton Racecourse organised by
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Betfred.com is now offering Skrill 1-Tap to enable quick and easy mobile payments. Fully integrated with Power8 boarding Betfred’s mobile Asian gaming technology provider sportsbook, Skrill Power8 has becomes an official 1-Tap connects Club Partner of English Premier with Skrill’s Digital League club Fulham FC. The Wallet to offer relationship includes significant quick and easy presence of the Power8 branding mobile payments on LED perimeter advertising, to customers and ultimately reaching TV and merchants alike. on-line audiences in 212 worldwide markets.
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The Racecourse Data Company, a new joint venture by Racecourse Media Group, Arena Racing Company, and nine independent racecourses, has secured the Pre-Race Data licence for a five-year term from Racing Enterprises Limited, which it can now license to third parties.
PLATFORM
Planning for a dominant position Angelo Dalli, CEO of platform provider Bit8, describes the direction in which the company is heading.
TO BOOK +44 (0)20 8704 4141 BiG@FIREBALL.CO.UK
Data shake up
ow did you find the ICE exhibition? We had an extremely busy week at ICE. We had 43 set meetings across the three days and added another 20 or so to those during the week. Most of our business was Europe-based but there were also some enquiries from the States, although it is a market we’re not actively looking at currently. The interest was sparked because our platform happens to be compliant for Nevada’s standards. We already have GeoFencing and other geographical filtering from day one, so it just happened that we were already compliant with Nevada. We didn’t realise until some firms we work with pointed it out. It brought some unexpected interest in our platform, which was good. We also had a lot of interest in our mobile and tablet solution, because it’s a pretty comprehensive package.
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Was this your first ICE as a main exhibitor? We spent the first three years of our company developing and perfecting the product, making sure it was of the standard we wanted. We always had an operator as a client from day one, but it was kept under the radar at the start. We really started pushing Bit8 as a platform provider last year, just after ICE and within the space of a few months attracted five of the top fifty casinos. We’ve been well received by the market and wanted to follow that up at ICE. What made Bit8 stand out from the competition?
The bonus system we offer is one of our strengths because we have added so many more features to what was already a strong portfolio. I think we have the most comprehensive selection of bonusing tools in the industry and the market seems to agree. We’ve also added more support for promotions and tournaments, after feedback from customers, which greatly complements our bonusing system. What else did you have to promote at the show? We have a loyalty programme which we have expanded with social media capabilities, meaning we can now support social casinos as well as real money casinos. We’ve also provided a hybrid offer where real money casinos can offer a social play element (a gamification feature) without having to go through the Facebook route. This includes medals, achievements and virtual points that can be exchanged for goods. We’ve tried to combine the best of both worlds. Last year there was more hype for social gaming. I think the hype bubble has burst and now the demand has switched back to the real money gaming. But certain things can be done in a more social style and these can be very important to business. You’re certainly building up your portfolio. Yes, we want to become one of the dominant platform
providers in the industry, so we have a roadmap of new features that is being constantly updated both by customer and industry feedback to make sure we are at the forefront of developments. By now we have most of the major games suppliers integrated and we are also going to strengthen our provision in the area of sportsbook. We are close to signing a deal to offer one sportsbook platform as a default option but also want to extend the choice of different sportsbook platforms to our customers. ANGELO DALLI: ‘WE WANT TO BECOME ONE OF THE DOMINANT PLATFORM PROVIDERS’
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BettingBusinessInteractive • MARCH 2014 Editor: Andrew McCarron Email: am@sjc.co.uk Tel: +44 (0) 1457 867 683 Managing editor: Ken Scott Email: ks@sjc.co.uk Tel: +44 (0) 1273 699 900
Advertising sales: Neil Judson, Email: njudson@gbmedia.eu Tel: +44 (0) 1204 396 397 Fax: +44 (0) 1204 392 748 Ad Production: Dave Roderick Email: gdk@sjc.co.uk
Contributors: John Samuels, James Walker, Alex Lee
SECURITY Biometric testing iometric security tech company Facebanx launched new KYC verification software last month that allows online gaming operators and payment processors to use biometrics in order to verify and authenticate their customers. The technology works with any of today’s devices such as a PC, tablet or smartphone that is fitted with a camera. No additional hardware is required. Operators can use a combination of face recognition, voice recognition and ID document capture including passports, driving licensing and credit cards. The software can be integrated directly into an operator’s platform and all the data stored within their database. The full process can also work in Facebanx’s browser video
Fax: +44 (0) 1204 392 748 Subscriptions: Sarah Haworth, Email: shaworth@gbmedia.eu Editorial & Production: Tel: +44 (0) 1204 396 397 20 New Road, Brighton, BN1 1UF, UK Fax: +44 (0) 1204 392 748 Tel: +44 (0) 1273 699 900 Advertising & Subscriptions: Publishing Director: GB Media Corporation Ltd John Sullivan Bolton Technology Exchange Email: jsullivan@gbmedia.eu 33 Queensbrook, Bolton BL1 4AY, UK Tel: +44 (0) 1204 396 397 Tel: +44 (0) 1204 396 397 Fax: +44 (0) 1204 392 748
blackmail - but that is changing,” said Stuart Scholly, president of Prolexic. “During the past few years in particular, DDoS attack campaigns have posed a significant threat to the financial services industry, as well as other publicly traded businesses and trading platforms.”
Opinions expressed in this publication should not be regarded as the official view of GB Media Corporation Ltd, except where stated. Views, opinions and recommendations contained in this publication are put forward for consideration only. No action should be taken in reliance upon any such views, opinions or recommendations. Neither GB Media Corporation Ltd nor contributors accept any responsibility for any loss occasioned to any person howsoever caused or arising as a result of or in consequence of action taken or refrained from in realiance on the contents of this publication.
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Notes for contributors: BBi welcomes the submission of articles for consideration by the editor with a view to publication. Submission of an article will be held to imply that the article contains original unpublished work which GB Media Corporation Ltd may lawfully publish. All submissions are made at the owner’s risk. © GB Media Corporation Ltd, 2014 All rights strictly reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission given, full acknowledgement of author, publisher and source must be given.
PLATFORM
Great ICE for Seavus Gaming
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DATA Sportradar takes an Internap nternap Network Services Corporation is supplying a content delivery network (CDN) to Sportradar to aid the streaming of live professional sporting events and data directly into 1,000 retail betting shops worldwide. With more than a petabyte of data at its disposal, Sportradar’s Live Channel provides a unique combination of a live event stream, statistics and odds - all integrated on a single screen. “As end users increasingly expect instant access to accurate sports and other information, the ability to guarantee seamless content delivery to any device, at any time, is critical for organisations like Sportradar that offer real-time data services,” said Paul Vian, director of business development at Internap.
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chat solution.
DDOS threat to trading platforms rolexic Technologies, provider of Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) protection services, has revealed an analysis of nearly a dozen global DDoS attacks that indicates cyber attackers are using DDoS attacks in an attempt to influence market values and interfere with exchange platforms. “Typically, DDoS attacks are launched to fuel public discourse, or for revenge, extortion and
P
PAUL VIAN
etting Business: What was different about ICE this year for Seavus? Seavus Gaming: This was our first year as exhibitors at ICE and we presented our casino and sports betting solutions that we recently launched along with our games under the brand Seavus Gaming. Together with out-of-the box integrations we provide everything that an online casino operator and betting operator needs to operate. The feedback we received was extremely positive and we firmly believe that we will continue to strongly impact the Gaming industry.
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BB: What do you think brought people to your stand at ICE? SG: Exhibitors and visitors from all over the world were curious to learn more behind our slogan ‘Next Generation Gaming Solutions’. The main attention of all visitors was captured by the flexibility of our gaming platform including the turnkey casino and betting solutions. The solutions are fully flexible and scalable offering the flexibility to adjust on the fly according to your business rules and keep up with the ever-changing gaming industry. The gaming platform’s cutting edge architecture
makes it fully flexible and scalable enabling easy integration of various gaming products. Another thing worth mentioning is Seavus Games’ popularity. We know how much gamers from all over the world love our games and we wanted ICE visitors also to try our games, too. So we placed a few different devices on our stand, installed our games and invited the visitors to try the games. A large number of people from the gaming industry came to our stand to try our well-known games, they were amazed by the games’ graphics, and how compelling and fun Yatzy, Backgammon, Slot Battlefield and other Seavus games they are. The appealing stand design and attractive branded gifts also attracted positive attention among visitors. BB: What were you most impressed by at the show? SG: There’s a few things at ICE that impressed us are worth mentioning; a great show organisation, impressive number of visitors from the gaming industry from all over the world, and excellent opportunity for networking as well as opportunity to gain insights into the latest developments in the gaming industry.
Isle of Man | London | Paris | Dublin | Singapore Gibraltar | Guernsey | Malta | Montreal | New Jersey
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Comment World Cup 2014: Operators need to consider their options Suren Khachatryan, chief executive of BetConstruct, highlights the potential of this summer’s football tournament in Brazil. he World Cup is the most widely viewed sporting event globally and is the largest single-event sporting competition in the world. This year’s tournament in Brazil will be the most significant for sports betting, with a huge variety of markets and advanced in-play and mobile technology available to punters. With the World Cup just four months away many operators are considering alternative solutions which are scalable and robust enough to enable them to cope with the expected volumes. There are, however, many operators out there using underperforming platforms and software that will leave their organisations exposed to not generating the revenues they hope for the coming season. We spoke to a number of these operators before and during the recent ICE expo and found that they are in need of a more innovative approach to the way they operate their sportsbooks. That’s exactly what we provide with our
ACTION IMAGES / CARL RECINE
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Advanced Gaming Platform (AGP). This gives operators the opportunity to customise their front-end user interface and utilise our sophisticated tools to manage their sportsbooks, including fine-tuning the odds to their local markets. This also helps them to differentiate, adding a unique personality to their offering and enables them to be extremely competitive regardless of their size. Our advanced, marketleading online, retail and mobile sportsbook platform and odds feed products cover more than 14,000 live matches and more than 50 sports per month, and therefore offers a long term solution for future major sporting events, not just a one-off for this year’s World Cup. It is by far the most diverse, comprehensive and affordable offering on the market and comes complete with a state-of-the-art backend, affiliate and agent systems, content, marketing and risk management tools. To provide a platform with this level of sophistication and breadth of content
38 BettingBusinessInteractive • MARCH 2014
to our partners BetConstruct employs more than 600 developers, traders, risk managers and other specialists across our offices in six countries. The process of odds creation is automated, however, each game is controlled, verified and supervised in real-time by a dedicated trader, who also monitors the game if it is televised, and can adjust the odds and markets based on his real-time analysis. This human intervention ensures the highest quality as well as the highest security standards, and with the level of betting increasing during the tournament, it is a crucial feature. Customers are increasingly demanding data from events in real-time and BetConstruct helps operators deliver that service effectively and profitably. Again, during every World Cup match, this becomes even more significant. The data and statistics products provided by BetConstruct to both operators and players, give immediate access to real-time game action and data. We also know that in sports betting every second counts. Our network of highly trained, qualified and quality controlled match reporters operate all over the world and are able to deliver invaluable event information via our groundbreaking software in less than two seconds. The data transmission, powered by unique in-house developed technology, is extremely fast and accurate. If you haven’t considered your options or are only just starting to then perhaps it’s time for a fresh approach. After all, the World Cup only comes around every four years!
Valuing the indep Phil Horne, group managing director of SG Gaming UK, explains how his firm caters for independent bookmakers. ndependent bookmakers are the lifeblood of the betting industry. Their individual nature is what has historically made them both popular and successful in communities across the country. At SG Gaming, we recognise the difficulties they face in the current climate and understand the challenges of competing with the larger chains. That is why we have developed a unique support programme, to better support independents in these challenging economic times. We operate in more than 450 independents shops across the country. Our support service for independents is renowned in the industry and is designed with the specific characteristics of each independent in mind - providing everything from cuttingedge content and terminals, to field-based support. We have the largest field-based service team in betting shops, with engineers operating all over the country. We also offer a help desk support unit that is available to shop staff seven days a week. As part of our offer, we also provide a leading bespoke marketing and training support programme. Our marketing programme provides monthly support for
I
new games and machine competitions. In addition, we also offer bespoke advice on platform functionality and how best to utilise the different promotional mechanics on the terminals. For training, we provide everything from technical management of cabinets to best practice and responsible gambling, as well as delivery of industryleading customer service. We are flexible, and allow the independent to choose whether to hold the training session in the shop, or at a larger off-site venue to accommodate more staff. Our training programmes help ensure shop staff are familiar with the machines and the day-to-day operational tools. This helps our customers to maximise machine performance for the benefit of their business. We recognise that this sort of support is crucial to independents, who often don’t have the same resources as the larger corporate bookmakers. Content is important, too. Our content library offers independents a choice of slots classics, such as Rainbow Riches, in addition to innovative B2 games such as Key Bet Roulette - which are exclusively
BB114-p38-p40-Comment_09/10 06/03/2014 14:39 Page 2
“Every applicant is judged on their merits. She’s applied before and it’s great for us that she’s still dreaming the dream.” A Ladbrokes spokesperson plays a straight bat to the news that millionaire singer Susan Boyle has applied for a cashier’s job in a Blackburn LBO
David Ross Fabrications Ltd Metalwork supplied from our designs or your own. 7YV[V[`WL [OYV\NO [V WYVK\J[PVU (SS Ä UPZOLZ For example: Bet slip dispensers Light boxes-wall and freestanding External ashtrays Magnetic wall boards Swivelling Tower with Poster Frames Pelmet Lights Upstands Floor bins with or without logo Paper Racks Pen dispensers Leaner legs
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SPECIALIST SUPPLIERS OF METALWORK TO THE BETTING INDUSTRY FOR OVER 16 YEARS UNIT 1E PECKLETON LANE BUSINESS ESTATE PECKLETON LEICESTER LE9 7RN TEL;01455 823721 FAX;01455 828339 EMAIL;davidross7@btconnect.com www.davidrossfabrications.co.uk Photographs courtesy of Coral Racing & Chisholm Bookmakers
dependents available to SG Gaming customers. In addition, our company’s recent acquisition of WMS brings two world-class content teams together, which means we can offer an even wider choice of games to our independent customers. But perhaps the most important part of the service we provide is our dedicated account management support. Based at our headquarters in West London, the account management team has access to a wide range of in-house resources, including marketing and yield management tools. This enables them to work closely with customers to maximise the performance of their terminals. Most members of the independents team at SG Gaming have worked in a betting shop, which means we fully understand their businesses and needs. That’s why we do more than just supply terminals and content. Our independent customers also benefit from the additional support function we provide through our field-based services division, SG Connect. SG Gaming understands why the support we offer is so important to independents. We have the experience and the expertise to help independent operators succeed in a difficult operating environment. We value our partnerships with independents and are proud to supply gaming machines to the independent sector.
Whether your market is low stake high volume gaming, remote, land-based casinos, bingo, betting or amusements there’s only one publishing house that’s really connected. The publishing division of GB Media is responsible for the award winning titles International Casino Review, Betting Business interactive and Coinslot, as well as the official ICE catalogue. For a unique window on the world of gaming, simply contact us on +44 (0) 1204 396 397 or email us at jsullivan@gbmedia.eu.
GBmedia
BettingBusinessInteractive • MARCH 2014 39
BB114-p38-p40-Comment_09/10 06/03/2014 14:40 Page 3
Comment
“As a teenager, I developed a great interest in not only horse breeding but also horse racing and used to bet based on red-hot tips. I realised that becoming a bookmaker would be very lucrative, but Dad put his foot down, saying it was an inappropriate career.”
Indian chemist and stud farm owner Dr. Cyrus S. Poonawalla - worth US$3.9bn
Benefits of getting up to standard Yasser Ramirez, head of finance at multichannel and multilingual customer service expert 60K, discusses the benefits of meeting ISO 9000 quality management standards. CERTIFICATION
ince 1987, when ISO published its first series of ISO 9000 quality management standards, more than one million organisations in 178 countries have achieved ISO 9001. What has persuaded so many people to invest significant amounts of time and money into this process, and what benefits have they gained? Should you be interested in doing the same for your organisation? It is, after all, a time-consuming and expensive exercise. At even the smallest business, certification can take up to 16 weeks, and at the largest organisations it is typically a nine-month process. During this time key staff are diverted from their day-to-day duties. Then there is the cost of involving external advisers, to conduct pre-certification audits, the actual certification audit, and then ongoing surveillance. Then once every three years you need to be recertified. At 60K we weighed up the arguments for and against the investment, and eventually decided to go for it. Ultimately, although we have been measuring the quality of our work against external benchmarks right from the formation of our business in 2008, we felt it was crucial to have qualified, globally-recognised, third parties to attest that our services comply with the quality standards of worldwide organisations. We gained ISO 9001:2008 certification in April 2010. Now, nearly four years on, we are able to look back and evaluate whether the investment of time and money has produced the expected benefits. ISO is a network of the international standards institutes of 162 nations. Formed in February 1947 it has a central Secretariat in Geneva, Switzerland that coordinates the system. ISO 9001 is one of many standards ISO operates. It is concerned with quality management. This means what the organisation does to enhance customer satisfaction by meeting customer and any regulatory requirements and to continually improve its performance in this regard. ISO 9001:2008 is the latest version of the standard, and the one we at 60K gained in 2010. Gaining certification for 60K involved a significant amount of hard work over a sustained period of time. Much of it involved a team working together on the classification of documents. We already had a large number of documents that we have built up around our
S
40 BettingBusinessInteractive • MARCH 2014
operations, but for ISO 9001 we needed to classify and label it according to ISO 9001:2008. We had a target date and not a lot of time. All the people involved in the ISO 9001:2008 effort had their day-to-day workloads and deadlines to comply with, so distributing the workload and responsibilities given the short timelines was crucial to our success. We also had to invest time in bringing third-party consultants up to speed with how we operate. They are ISO experts and brought an invaluable perspective from their work with many companies from different sectors and countries over the years, but in order to give us the best possible advice we needed to make them completely familiar with our core operations, day-to-day routines, and way of thinking. Finally, we also had to take time out to attend ISO training sessions. After all, before the external auditors could come in we first needed properly trained, qualified and certified internal auditors to conduct a thorough internal audit. Over the years there have been many surveys conducted on the benefits organisations gain from ISO 9000 certification. To give just one example, UK-based con-
sultants ISO consultants QMS surveyed 596 certified organisations in the last quarter of 2012. 78 per cent of respondents reported that since implementing an ISO 9001 management system they have made significant changes to their processes. They also reported that in addition to gaining quality management skills, their organisations had become more efficient, employees were more motivated, customers were more satisfied, and they retained more customers. For many this had translated through directly to increased productivity, sales and profits. Only 5 per cent reported no benefits. We would agree that this has been the case for 60K. The process of gaining ISO 9001 certification helped us become more organised and effective throughout our organisation. It provided a significant lift to employee morale. We are in general a positive and self-confident company, but to achieve this global quality standard gave us real confidence in what we are doing. Perhaps most importantly though, our existing and new clients tell us how reassuring it is for them to know they are dealing with a company that offers the highest quality services.
Time to review your content strategy? Andy Harris, commercial director of Realistic Games, suggests less is more, especially when it comes to mobile. MOBILE
or a number of reasons, not least the lack of physical restraint, many operators offer hundreds of desktop games. In the frenzy to source new content mobile is following suit. In fact, many companies use the quantity of titles as one of their key marketing messages. But is a massive number of games what players really want? When I buy a pair of jeans I don’t feel the need to pick from hundreds of options. I prefer to be presented with a sensible number of choices selected for me from the best available. If I buy them online, the retailer even presents me with choices similar to those I’ve viewed. Why should our industry be any different? Vast numbers of games would be justified if each one yielded equal amounts of revenue - but they don’t. A handful of games are responsible for the majority of operator revenues. Furthermore, a large volume is a hindrance to players accessing the best games. So, in many cases, is the way that content is managed. The small percentage of really profitable games are often, and inexplicably, hard to find. On mobile, due to real estate limitations, these problems are simply exacerbated, preventing operators from generating anywhere near the revenues they should. The solutions are simple. They start with a cull of the worst performing games. Operators should be bold in the knowledge they’ll make more money out of less, but
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higher quality, content that is easier to access. They’ll only be confident in doing so, however, if they have a wellstructured and consistent process for launching and then managing that content. This will provide them with fair, likefor-like performance comparisons across games, which will in turn aid the cull. I’d also urge them to manage their portfolio more effectively. This involves putting the best performing games under customers’ noses. Personalising the presentation of content through simple automation would help too, so players can easily access their preferred games. Perhaps, as an industry, we should even consider being more open about game performance, as they are in some land-based environments where the indexed performance of games is widely available. It would certainly puncture a few popularly-held myths and make it easier for operators to provide a better service to their customers. Some may consider this idealistic, but it would drive healthy competition, innovation and creativity among suppliers. This would lead to the production of higher quality games and improved revenues. It would make supplying games about game performance, not commercial manipulation or a race to the bottom on price. Many wouldn’t survive - but the best would. It would also be the death of endless, unimaginative re-skins and clones. Creativity and true product expertise would rule the day.
EXPERTISE YOU’LL WANT TO STICK WITH BE T T I N G ON
F O O T BA L L 8 May 2014
DATE: LOCATION: COST: CONTACT:
8 May 2014 Stamford Bridge £295+VAT andy@sbcnews.co.uk
DESCRIPTION: A brand new conference designed to allow bookmakers to discover, discuss and debate the latest ideas, products and strategies around football.
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Held on the evening of 8 May at the Octoberfest Pub, The Betting on -VV[IHSS (^HYKZ PZ [OL PUK\Z[Y`»Z Ä YZ[ .LYTHU [OLTLK OVUV\YZ JLYLTVU` HUK ^PSS YLJVNUPZL ZVTL VM [OL V\[Z[HUKPUN ^VYR PU [OL Ä LSK VM MVV[IHSS IL[[PUN ;PJRL[Z MVY [OPZ TVZ[ \U\Z\HS L]LUPUN HYL =(;
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BB114-p42-43-Businesss_09/10 06/03/2014 14:41 Page 1
Business appointments
CALLCREDIT’S LEEDS HEADQUARTERS
Alderney Gambling Control Commission has a new Twillhechairman in the shape of Lord Faulkner of Worcester. He be joined by Christopher Moger QC, who has become a new member of the Commission. The Commission consists of a chairman and three members who are appointed for a term of five years. Lord Faulkner, a current member of the Commission, will succeed John Godfrey, who retires in May of this year, whilst Christopher Moger QC will replace Lord Faulkner as a member of the Commission. Godfrey was the first chairman of the Commission and retires after a period of 14 years. LORD FAULKNER etfair has reportedly appointed former BSkyB director of Bnology software engineering Paul Cutter as its new chief techofficer, taking over from Tony McAlister. Cutter will be the exchange’s third CTO in five years.
GTCR becomes new owner of Callcredit Vitruvian Partners has sold its stake in Callcredit after four successful years of ownership. ACQUISITION
ata and fraud expert Callcredit Information Group has been snapped up by Chicago-based private equity firm GTCR, which has acquired an ‘ownership position’ from Vitruvian Partners, a middle market private equity firm focused on the UK and Northern Europe, which has owned Callcredit since 2009. GTCR and Callcredit’s management team, led by CEO John McAndrew, are investing behind the company’s strong growth trajectory, innovative product offering, and service-oriented culture. Vitruvian, which currently has gaming investments with Inspired Gaming and Openbet, said it was happy with its partnership with Callcredit. David Nahama, a founding Partner at Vitruvian, commented: “We are delighted with the performance and development of Callcredit over the past four years of our ownership with John and the team who have worked hard to position the company firmly for further development. We wish them every continuing success with the next stage of growth.” Callcredit is a leading player in the UK credit reference and marketing solutions
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industries and serves a rapidly expanding base of blue chip clients, including the UK’s largest financial institutions and organisations. Callcredit employs around 1,000 professionals in the UK and has operations in Japan, China, Dubai and Lithuania. As part of this new partnership, Callcredit will continue to pursue its current strategy of winning in the marketplace through innovation and strong customer service. GTCR is one of the most established private equity firms in the United States, and focuses on investing in growth companies alongside exceptional management teams. Since its inception in 1980, GTCR has invested more than $10bn in over 200 companies, with extensive experience in the financial technology, data analytics, and software sectors. John McAndrew, chief executive of Callcredit, said: “I am extremely pleased that Callcredit is partnering with GTCR. They understand technology and added-value growth. They are very clear in wanting us to continue to succeed by helping our customers thrive in this challenging environment of increasing regulation, rapid
42 BettingBusinessInteractive • MARCH 2014
technological change, and heightened competition.” Collin Roche, managing director at GTCR, stated: “We are delighted to partner with John McAndrew and the Callcredit management team. We believe that Callcredit is perfectly positioned to continue its success and growth within the rapidly evolving areas of consumer credit and data analytics, and we look forward to supporting John’s vision of building upon the company’s strong service-oriented culture, innovative and expanding product portfolio, and leading technology infrastructure. Moreover, we believe that GTCR is ideally positioned to back Callcredit and its management team’s success by pursuing opportunities for strategic acquisitions and geographic expansion.” McAndrew added: “We are also extremely grateful for the help and support of Vitruvian Partners over the last four years. Vitruvian has actively supported us to grow the company both organically and through strategic acquisitions as we have implemented our vision for the company, which has helped to ensure that Callcredit is now recognised as an innovative and progressive player in our industry.”
ANALYSIS Five years is a natural cycle for private equity firm’s involvement in companies, so it should be no surprise that Vitruvian has been exploring an exit. That another private equity firm has stepped into the breach should mean business as usual for Callcredit and provide stability for its staff and customers. It should also give the firm a decent war chest if it chooses to grow via acquisition something which would have been off the table in the last year or so as the firm would have struggled to see any return on investment while still under Vitruvian’s ownership.
owever, Betfair has officially appointed Leo Quinn as a H non-executive director and he will join the Board with effect from 5 March. CEO of FTSE 250 QinetiQ Group plc since 2009, Quinn was previously CEO of De La Rue plc for five years and a divisional COO with Invensys plc from 20012004. Betfair chairman Gerald Corbett said: “We look forward to welcoming Leo to our Board, he has an excellent track record, considerable international experience in large public companies and will be a great addition to the Board.” Quinn added: “Betfair has an enterprising and unique business model and I am delighted to join the board at such an important time in its development.” footballer Michael Owen has signed a three-year Fseeormer deal to become a brand ambassador for BetVictor. “We Michael and BetVictor as the perfect fit and are delighted to welcome him on board,” said BetVictor chairman Victor Chandler. “He will be sharing his forthright views and opinions with BetVictor customers on the big sporting topics of the day but especially football and horseracing which Michael is so passionate about.” Owen said he was ‘delighted’ with his ambassadorial role: “With my sporting experience and knowledge, as well as my social media reach on Twitter and Sina Weibo, I am really looking forward to helping BetVictor develop and expand their brand into new markets around the world.” MICHAEL OWEN
roduct expert Marc Thomas has joined SIS as the Pformerly company steps up its push into the digital world. Thomas, of William Hill and Sportingbet, becomes head of product with responsibility for overseeing the development and marketing of new services and solutions for online bookmakers. He said: “My aim is to take SIS’ core competences and expand our product range, profile and customers. There are hundreds of operators out there who would be interested both in our existing services and the new data and streaming products we can develop in both our traditional core sports, as well as new and exciting content from around the world.” amblingCompliance has appointed James Kilsby as G managing director Americas, to lead the company’s ongoing expansion into the US market. Kilsby joined GamblingCompliance in 2006 and was instrumental in setting up its North American presence in 2010. “I am delighted to announce James’ promotion to MD Americas,” said David Morgan, GamblingCompliance’s CEO and founder. “After seven years with GC in both London and Washington his knowledge of the global regulatory and legislative framework across the gaming industry is unparalleled. James, in addition to coordinating our award winning editorial coverage, will now also oversee the accelerating expansion of our business in America.”
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More growth for SeanieMac SeanieMac, the Irish-facing bookmaker listed in America, has reported a 20 per cent increase in amounts staked for January compared to the previous month to reach 730,380 euro (£600,000). The firm said: “Since our launch in April 2013 through January 2014, we have registered over 8,000 users, processed over 94,000 bets, had total amounts staked of over 3.3m euro (£2.7m) and generated over 229,346 euro (£188,650) in net gross profit.”
New activist shareholder could shake-up Bwin.party With so many different facets to the business, there is an argument for breaking Bwin.party into its constituent parts. SHAREHOLDING
peculation is mounting that online gaming giant Bwin.party is to be restructured into different businesses in order to realise greater shareholder value. The group has several diverse business channels and the interest of activist investor SpringOwl Gibraltar Partners has sparked debate over whether shareholders would be better serviced by a series of divestments. SpringOwl has agreed to acquire 49,829,863 ordinary shares in Bwin.party - representing 6.1 per cent of the company - from Emerald Bay Limited and Stinson
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THERE COULD BE A RACE FOR BWIN.PARTY’S DIFFERENT BUSINESS CHANNELS
Ridge Limited , two companies connected with Bwin.party founders Ruth Parasol DeLeon and Russell DeLeon and certain trusts which they have established. Interestingly, as part of the transaction SpringOwl will also be assigned the right to appoint one director to the Bwin board as contemplated by the New Relationship Agreement entered
into between Emerald, Stinson, Bwin and others on 20 July 2010. Notice of the proposed transaction has been given to Bwin by Stinson and Emerald Bay in accordance with the New Relationship Agreement and it is expected that the transaction will be completed soon. SpringOwl has already said that it may sell around 15 per cent of its shares
straight away, representing approximately 1 per cent of the issued share capital of the company. SpringOwl is a Cayman company which is managed by Cumberland Associates LLC. Cumberland, an SEC registered investment advisor, is the investment manager for a number of fund vehicles. Cumberland typically adopts an active approach to its investments. The other
www.nyxgaminggroup.com
firm behind SpringOwl is US gaming analyst Jason Ader, who played hardball with International Game Technology and secured a seat on its board last year. A spokesman for SpringOwl confirmed to the Daily Telegraph that Ader ‘feels the company is undervalued and is looking to see it reach its potential’. The deal will allow Bwin.party to continue with its New Jersey licence as neither of the DeLeons wanted to apply for personal licences in the state (as would have been necessary as shareholders) for privacy reasons. Analyst Ivor Jones of Numis sees the involvement of SpringOwl as a potential catalyst for change: “2014 has the potential to be a year of transformation for bwin.party. We believe this will come either: i) from payback on investment in product and marketing coupled with growth in US revenue; or, ii) from a restructuring which releases value from the component parts. The news that an activist fund plans to take a stake seems to make the
latter more likely.” In an extensive quote in The Guardian, he added: “We believe that there are several sources of value to a third-party within the business of Bwin.party today. The nascent US business with its partnerships and, potentially, licensed and taxed revenue could be the route into the US online gambling business for an acquirer. The technology platform would, we believe, have value to another online gambling company. Bwin.party’s brands in markets where the regulatory risk is relatively low could be of value to businesses such as William Hill or Paddy Power that are keen to expand their international footprint and an acquirer with a higher regulatory risk appetite might be able to extract more value from the brands in markets with higher regulatory risk. “There are other activities of value largely hidden within the current Bwin.party structure: Kalixa (the payments business), the sports media rights business and the social gambling business.”
sales@nyxgg.com
BettingBusinessInteractive • MARCH 2014 43
BB114-p44-45-Agenda_09/10 06/03/2014 14:45 Page 1
ACTION IMAGES / JULIAN HERBERT LIVEPIC
Agenda
Ante Post: What the bookies say March is possibly the only month of the year when racing dominates the bookmaker’s mind over other sports as the Cheltenham Festival kicks in. heltenham is the greatest racing Festival in the world and we at BetVictor are proud to be associated with the greatest show on turf as, for the first time this year, we will sponsor one of the four Championship races at the meeting the BetVictor Queen Mother Champion Chase for the best two-mile chasers in Britain and Ireland. The Grand National remains the biggest betting race in the calendar but Cheltenham is the biggest betting week in the calendar as old Festival warriors such as Hurricane Fly and Bobs Worth look to defend their Championship crowns. As in previous years there will be a mass exodus from Ireland to Prestbury Park and win, lose or draw the craic is what sets Cheltenham apart from any other major racing Festival. Away from Cheltenham and we will know the make-up of the last eight in the Champions League and the conclusion of the Six Nations
C
Rugby but from a betting perspective Cheltenham is King in March but will it be punters or bookmakers cheering when the curtain comes down on Cheltenham 2014? CHARLIE MCCANN Director of online public relations BetVictor
Sky Bet will be keenly anticipating the biggest week of horse racing action in March, with the Cheltenham Festival taking centre stage. As the UK’s fastest growing bookmaker, we anticipate record stakes during a glorious four days of racing, with our close association to this year’s Festival making it even more special. The Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle is not only the curtain raiser to the Festival but also for our sponsorship of the race, while we’ll have a range of special offers throughout the four days. Stakes will only been triumphed by the Premier League action, with interest only likely to
grow as we reach the business end of the season. A Super Sunday including Manchester United v Liverpool and Tottenham v Arsenal on March 16 is sure to capture the imagination of the punters, while we’ll be hoping English sides can progress in the Champions League to keep up the interest. TIM CLEMENT Content editor Sky Bet
lous four days of action at Prestbury Park and we’ll be enticing fans with some brilliant offers and concessions. Ireland got the upper hand last year and with Willie Mullins seemingly unstoppable, we will be seeing plenty of business on his runners. The Six Nations has been fantastic viewing for the last few weeks, but it’s the punters who’ve been winning the war so far. England versus Wales and Ireland against France are the big remaining fixtures that we’ll be glued to in the coming weeks. The Champions League made a welcome return to our screens recently and interest in this year’s tournament has been incredible. This month’s matches will provide superb entertainment for BetBright customers - although the English teams are up against it at Barcelona and Bayern Munich.
At BetBright we recently took our first steps into race sponsorship. As well as penning a deal to lend our name to 20 all-weather meetings at Kempton Park in 2014, we were also the proud sponsors of the BetBright Chase on 22 February, along with the BetBright.com Adonis Juvenile Novices’ Hurdle and BetBright Mobile Pendil Novices’ Chase. It was the right time to raise our profile ahead of the Cheltenham BRIAN FARRELL Festival which is the main focus Marketing director for us in March. It’s always a fabu- BetBright
Nominations needed for BiG Awards CHARITY
he BiG Foundation is looking for nominations for two awards that will be announced during its BiG Sports Dinner at the Dorchester Hotel on 1 April. The winners of the awards will be chosen by a panel of judges consisting of wellknown individuals across a selection of sports. The two awards are: the BiG Award for the Best Sports Betting Campaign, which will go to the campaign deemed most memorable and relevant by the panel, and the BiG Award for the Best use of a Sporting Star in a Betting Cam-
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BettingBusinessInteractive •
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MARCH 2014
paign, which again will go to the campaign deemed most suitable by the panel. The sports dinner will launch The BiG Foundation which aims to improve and enhance the quality of life of injured, sick, or terminally ill individuals globally, with a focus on the healing power of sport. With 450+ guests expected to attend, the venue will contain an audience consisting of key players in the betting and interactive gaming industry, high net worth individuals, leading business decision makers, city and commercial corporate
guests and famous sport and entertainment stars. The BiG Foundation aspires to improve the physical, social, emotional and psychological wellbeing of these individuals, as well as their immediate families and carers, with the provision of specialist care, support networks, sports resources or equipment, assisting access to, participation in and engagement with sports and physical activities. The charity also aims to work collaboratively with other voluntary organisations with shared objectives.
LISTINGS MONTHLY BRIEFING
MARCH 4-6 iGaming Asia Congress 2014, Macao 4-5 Irish Gaming Show, Dublin 19-21 iGaming North America 2014, Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino, Las Vegas 31 – 1 April Social Media Marketing Conference, The Brewery APRIL 1 BiG Sports Dinner, The Dorchester 8-9 Igaming Forum, Grand Hotel, Stockholm 23-25 IMGL 2014 Spring Conference, Manchester Grand Hyatt, San Diego, California 24-25 The Next Web Conference Europe, Amsterdam MAY 8 Betting on Football Conference, Stamford Bridge 8 Betting on Football Awards, Fulham 14-16 Japan Gaming Congress, Tokyo 15 mGaming Summit 2014, Dexter House, London 15-16 Online Bingo Summit, Park Plaza Victoria, London 15 3rd Annual mGaming Awards, Dickens Inn, St Katherine Dock, London 20-22 G2E Asia, The Venetian Macao 20 ‘Next steps for gambling policy: regulation, taxation and new opportunities’, Central London JUNE 4-5 Russian Gaming Week, Sokolniki, Moscow 12-13 Social Casino Summit USA, Bellagio, Las Vegas 12-13 Online Gambling Summit USA, Bellagio, Las Vegas 22-25 Sports Betting Seminar, Blue Tree Premium Fortaleza, Brazil 23-25, Canadian Gaming Summit, Vancouver Convention Centre 24-27 Igaming SuperShow, Amsterdam RAI JULY 8-10 World Gaming Executive Summit, The W Hotel, Barcelona 14-16 GiGse 2014, Hyatt Regency, San Francisco 14-16 Social Casino Summit at GiGse 2014, Hyatt Regency, San Francisco SEPTEMBER 9 - 12 10th European Conference on Gambling Studies and Policy Issues, Hilton Kalastajatorppa, Helsinki
BB114-p44-45-Agenda_09/10 06/03/2014 14:47 Page 2
Tickets on sale for ‘unique’ awards Tickets have gone on sale for the Betting on Football Awards on 8 May, an event described as ‘unique’ by organisers Sports Betting Community. The Betting on Football Awards is being held at the Octoberfest Pub in Fulham and will feature traditional German food, beer and a brass band.
Clarion hails 7 per cent increase in ICE attendance Despite the travel chaos brought on by a two-day tube strike, ICE Totally Gaming still registered a jump in numbers. THE NUMBER OF VISITORS TO ICE INCREASED AGAIN IN 2014
EXHIBITION
magnificent 23,891 gaming industry professionals defied a 48-hour strike on the London Underground to set a new record attendance at ICE 2014 last month. The figure, which at this stage remains unaudited, represents a 7 per cent increase on 2013 and a 12 per cent uplift on 2012, the last edition of ICE to be held at Earls Court. Kate Chambers, portfolio director responsible for organising the world’s largest business-to business gaming event, described ICE 2014 as ‘the most dynamic celebration of international gaming imaginable’. Reflecting on the event, which opened with the International Casino Conference organised in
A
partnership with the European Casino Association, she said: “I would like to pay tribute to the many thousands of visitors who navigated their way across London using a combination of taxis, cars, buses and even boats to get to the river fronted ExCeL Centre. This says a huge amount about their determination not to have gaming’s most important business week of the year ruined by a strike. “The ICE team also worked tremendously hard to put on an event which reflected the investment made by our visitors and the 503 exhibiting companies which occupied the 55,000 sqm of space at ExCeL. Not only did the team work harder but they also worked smarter. Our campaign was SEN-
SATIONAL ICE and I hope the experience lived up to that pledge. 2014 represented our fifth consecutive year of growth and a 28 per cent uplift on the 18,676 who attended ICE 2010. However, you are only as good as your last event and our job now is to reflect, identify the areas in which we could have done better, continue to do the things we did well and work in partnership with the industry to deliver on behalf of the industry once again in 2015.” Off the floor events organised by Clarion included the eight strong ICE Conference programme which comprised 40 hours of targeted learning and net-
working, as well as free to enter seminars on the Bitcoin phenomenon, gambling opportunities in India, the legal considerations and pitfalls surrounding gaming convergence, sports betting, new trends and developments in emerging and European jurisdictions, Think Tank seminars covering IT, Digital & Security, the first ICE Tribal Gaming Seminar and the high-level Asia Breakfast which was sponsored by Clarion’s Japan Gaming Congress taking place across 14-16 May in Tokyo. JCM, the international currency validator, has been confirmed as the first commerical sponsor the Japan Gaming Congress. Tom
info@bit8.com
Nieman, JCM’s vice president of global marketing, said: “I think for the first time the political planets in Japan are aligned in terms of gaming and we are extremely excited about the opportunity of being able to bring our industry home. It’s going to be an exciting time in May and Clarion’s timing for the Congress could be perfect. “We see ourselves not just as a commercial partner, but also as something akin to a cultural ambassador - we are fluent in both Japanese and gaming! We are proud to be associated with this momentous event and look forward to another productive relationship with the team at Clarion.”
www.bit8.com
BettingBusinessInteractive • MARCH 2014 45
BB114-p46-47-Analysis_09/10 06/03/2014 14:54 Page 1
Analysis
Paddy Po back into
Iain Coward, who has just been promoted to the firm’s charts marking bookmaker value. FREEBETS. com publishes an authoritative monthly report providing indepth analysis on the number of money-back offers available online and mobile, and ranks them using our own algorithm developed in-house. This takes into account the number of offers available, the maximum free bet or cash refund value, and the likelihood of the scenario to happen. That’s in addition to analysing the number of events and the range of markets which qualify for the offer. The FREEBETS.com team draws on over 50 years of experience in the
ACTION IMAGES / PAUL HARDING LIVEPIC
“
TOP TEN GLOBAL POOLS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
GBR - Colossus Bets - The £10,000,000 Colossus - E12,132,800 SWE - V75 -Gavle- E10,718,926 ESP - La Quinella - E9,696,745 GBR - Classic Pools - E3,639,840 SWE/RUS - Stryktipset/Soccer13 - E2,690,156 GBR - Colossus Bets - Premier League Pick6 - E2,426,560 SWE - V86 - Solvalla - E2,213,202 GBR - Goal Millions - E1,214,530 EUR - Marathon Toto - E968,529 SWE - V64 - Jagersro - E939,179
Chart supplied by: Colossus Bets Calculated by biggest pools/guarantees over a week’s period during the month. One entry per bet type. Data for February
TOP TEN UK HORSERACE POOLS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Chart supplied by: Totepool. Data for January
International Cricket - Australia v England 5th Test International Cricket - Pakistan v Sri Lanka 2nd Test International Cricket - Pakistan v Sri Lanka 3rd Test Domestic Football - Chelsea v Man Utd Domestic Football - Man Utd v Tottenham International Cricket - Pakistan v Sri Lanka 1st Test Domestic Football - Arsenal v Tottenham Domestic Football - Liverpool v Aston Villa Domestic Football - Man City v West Ham Domestic Football - Aston Villa v Arsenal
Chart supplied by: Spreadex. Calculated on volume of bets. Data for January
TOP TEN RETAIL BETTING (UK) EVENTS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Wall Street, Daily Germany 30, Daily UK 100, Daily Spot, EUR/USD Spot, GBP/USD Spot, AUD/USD Spot, USD/JPY Wall Street, Mar Spot, EUR/JPY UK 100, Mar
Chart supplied by: Spreadex. Calculated on volume of bets. Data for January
Tennis - Australian Open, Melbourne Domestic Football - Chelsea v Man Utd Darts - PDC World Championships Final International Cricket - Australia v England, 5th Ashes Test, Sydney Horseracing - Freebets.com Handicap Chase, Cheltenham International Cricket - Australia v England, 1st ODI Domestic Football - Liverpool v Everton Golf - Abu Dhabi Championship, Abu Dhabi Snooker - The Masters, Alexandra Palace Domestic Football - Arsenal v Tottenham
Chart supplied by: Betfred. Data for January
TOP TEN FINANCIAL SPREAD MARKETS
TOP TEN SPORTS SPREAD MARKETS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Doncaster - Sky Bet Handicap Chase Cheltenham - Steel Plate and Sections Handicap Hurdle Cheltenham - Cleeve Hurdle Lingfield Park - Coral.co.uk Handicap Cheltenham - Handicap Hurdle Cheltenham - Trophy Handicap Chase Cheltenham - Handicap Chase Cheltenham - NH Flat Race Cheltenham - Novices’ Hurdle Cheltenham - Fairlawne Handicap Chase
TOP TEN BOOKMAKERS FOR MONEYBACK OFFERS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
(3) Paddy Power (2) Bet365 (1) William Hill (6) Betfair (7) Stan James (6) Betfred (4) Winner (9) Ladbrokes (10) BetVictor (8) Betway
Chart supplied by: Freebets.com. Data for January
THE £10,000,000 COLOSSUS
ALL OTHER BETS ARE LOWER LEAGUE 46 BettingBusinessInteractive • MARCH 2014
betting industry to attribute weightings for the various factors in the formula in order to provide comparative values to the complex array of promotions. With online and mobile gambling growing at an unstoppable rate, the money-back offers arena has become increasingly saturated and, thus, ever more competitive in recent months. But for January, Paddy Power, self-styled ‘king of the money-back offer’, was again the leading bookmaker in this sphere. The Dublin-based layer had 18 unique offers – as part of a mammoth total of 109 money-back promo-
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BB114-p46-47-Analysis_09/10 06/03/2014 14:55 Page 2
TOP TEN ONLINE SPORTSBOOK PERFORMANCE
SPONSORED BY COLOSSUSBETS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Power roars nto the lead
(1) Bet365 - 0.75 (2) Jenningsbet - 1.17 (7) BetVictor - 1.34 (5) Totesport - 1.35 (4) Betfair Sports - 1.40 (3) Boylesports - 1.53 (8) Betclic - 1.69 (6) Ladbrokes - 1.72 (-) Gamebookers - 2.60 (9) Sky Bet - 2.64
Chart supplied by: Gomez. Data for January
TOP TEN FOOTBALL BETTING WEBSITES
omoted to the role of managing director at affiliate site FREEBETS.com explains ker value. tions in January – providing more variety than any of the 19 bookmakers surveyed. What made Paddy Power stand out in particular was their ‘Money-Back if a Draw’ on a large selection of Premier League games. While this wasn’t the best overall individual promotion, the offer had a relatively high chance of occurring. Available first on a number of high-profile fixtures, it was then rolled out for all Premier League games between 18th and 20th January. Paddy Power also scored highly with its money-back special on Heineken Cup matches, refunding seven different
RESPONSE TIME (SECS)
grip on the individual offer of the month. Their Sky Dogs 2/1 offer allows any bettor backing a single winner at 2/1 or 1 bet365 – Greyhounds: Sky dogs 2/1 more on a live Sky Sports 2 Paddy Power – Rugby: Money Back if last conversion missed greyhound race to have a 3 Paddy Power – Football: Money back if a draw risk free bet to the same 4 Paddy Power – Basketball: If Point Scored In Last 10 Seconds Live BT Sport stake on the next live race 5 Boylesports – Cricket: Money Back if team captain top 1st inns run scorer up to £100. 6 Paddy Power – Tennis: Money Back if player wins 1st set and loses match Overall, FREEBETS. 7 Paddy Power – Football: Money Back if Negredo scores last com counted a massive 780 8 Paddy Power – Football: Money back if Sunderland win different money-back 9 Paddy Power – Football: Money Back if Aguero scores last offers in January – the 10 Betfred – Tennis: If Andy Murray reaches the final highest total since FREEBETS.com started moniChart supplied by: Freebets.com Data for January toring them. Smaller operators like Betway also markets if the last conver- Power (5) have won our impressed us with their sion was missed. This was monthly title eight times offers such as ‘Moneyavailable on 12 matches between them since we back if an FA Cup tie goes and was a popular offer started our reporting in to a replay’ and MoneyMay 2013 and it was the back if Newcastle score through our website. Bet365 (3) and Paddy former that retained its 1st v Man City’.”
TOP TEN MONEYBACK OFFERS
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
(1) Betfair (2) Bet 365 (3) Bet Victor (4) Paddy Power (5) William Hill (6) Coral (7) Ladbrokes (9) Sky Bet (8) Stan James (10) Betfred
Chart supplied by: Oddschecker. Calculated on market share of betslip clicks from Oddschecker.com. Data for January
TOP TEN MOST SELECTED BOOKMAKERS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
(1) Pinnacle (2) Bet365 (3) BetVictor (5) Bwin (9) Bet 3000 (7) William Hill (4) 188Bet (10) Unibet (6) Ladbrokes (8) 5Dimes
Chart supplied by: Based on data from 17,351 tips in English language section Data from January
TOP TEN ONLINE BETTING MARKETS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Domestic Football - Chelsea v Man Utd Domestic Football - Man Utd v Tottenham Domestic Football - Arsenal v Tottenham Domestic Football - Liverpool v Everton Domestic Football - Man Utd v Sunderland Darts - PDC World Championship Final Domestic Football - Aston Villa v Arsenal Domestic Football - Man City v West Ham Domestic Football - West Brom v Everton Domestic Football - Man City v Blackburn
Chart supplied by: BetVictor. Data for January
TOP TEN BETTING EXCHANGE MARKETS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Chart supplied by: BetVictor. Data for January
TOP TEN ONLINE POKER PERFORMANCE (1) Jenningsbet Poker - 0.58 (2) 888 - 0.59 (3) Bet365 - 1.17 (5) Partypoker - 1.36 (6) PokerStars - 1.38 (8) Bet Victor Poker - 1.51 (4) Unibet - 1.66 (7) Stan James Poker - 1.79 (9) BetFred Poker - 1.92 (10) Poker Room - 1.99
Chart supplied by: Gomez. Data for January
Bet on our easy-to-play weekly pick 7 football game.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
TOP TEN MOST SELECTED BET TYPES (GLOBAL)
RESPONSE TIME (SECS)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
(1) 888Casino - 0.73 (2) Jenningsbet Casino - 0.91 (5) 32Red - 0.96 (4) BetVictor - 1.75 (3) Bet365 - 1.77 (7) William Hill - 2.13 (6) PartyGaming - 2.19 (10) Unibet - 2.39 (-) Sky Vegas - 2.71 (8) Totesport- 2.75
Chart supplied by: Gomez. Data for January
Cash-In profits in full
(1) Asian Handicap (2) Over/Under (3) 1X2 (4) 12 (5) Correct Score (6) Both Teams to Score (7) HT:FT (10) European Handicap (9) Double Change (8) Draw No bet
Chart supplied by: Based on data from 17,351 tips in English language section Data from January
TOP TEN ONLINE CASINO PERFORMANCE
RESPONSE TIME (SECS)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
International Cricket - Australia v England (2nd ODI) Australian Cricket - Scorchers v Hurricanes International Cricket -Australia v England (5th ODI) International Cricket -Australia v England (4th ODI) Australian Cricket - Thunder v Heat The Final / Nadal v Wawrinka Australian Cricket - Strikers v Sixers Australian Cricket - Scorchers v Strikers Australian Cricket - Heat v Sixers Australian Cricket - Sixers v Hurricanes
TOP TEN MOST SELECTED BET TYPES (ENG)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Over/Under 1X2 Asian Handicap 12 Correct Score Both Teams to Score Double Chance HT:FT European Handicap Draw No bet
Chart supplied by: Based on data from 39,172 tips Data from January
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